Lagnadan
by Lagnadan
Summary: AU Riku x Sora and Axel x Roxas on the side. Riku gets Sora to transfer to another school. He hopes it will increase his chances with the boy. male x male pairings.
1. Summer is Coming to an End

**Diclaimer: **I don't own anything. Okay?

-boy x boy stuff will come in later chapters. This isn't my favorite story, but since I've already wrote 11 chapters…going on 12, I decided I would try to work with it. I don't know how many chapters there will be…just that I only have the first two ready for posting. And when I say ready, I mean I ran it through spell check and read over it a few times. I'm not perfect!

-And regarding the stories name "Lagnadan" means fate.

**Summer is Coming to an End**

It was a great day at the island. The temperature was just right. Not too hot, just comfortable. The warm breeze felt wonderful against his face. Sora looked over at Riku, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Hey, Riku?" The silver haired boy lifted his head to reply. "_Yes_?" He seemed to be in deep thought a lot lately. "What are you thinking about so much?"

Riku hopped up to set on the paupu tree with Sora. "_Haven't you ever wondered what's out there?_" Riku pointed out to the ocean. Sora tilted his head. "Erm...water?" Riku shook his head sadly. "_No. I mean besides that. What else is there besides this island_?"

Sora never really thought about it before. He guessed there was something out there, but that didn't really seem to matter. He noticed that Riku seemed to be keeping a close watch on him. "_Sora, the summer is almost over. We only have one year of school left_." Sora looked down at the sand. He knew they only had a few more days of vacation left. Although he had no idea why Riku sounded sad about it being their last year of school. It should be a good thing. They used to count down how many years were left of it when they were little.

"Aw come on Riku, last year wasn't so bad." Riku hopped down. "_That's exactly what I'm talking about. Nothing ever changes. I want something new. Something more exciting than this little old island._" Sora climbed down the tree. "Well I guess some change couldn't hurt. But, what are we supposed to do about it?"

Riku smiled, obviously glad Sora was thinking on the same page he was. "_I've already got it figured out._" Riku waved his arm in the air, as if the emphasize how easy the task was for him. "_I asked the school administrator, and they said that there was this thing called an exchange program. We can go to a completely different school, and it wouldn't cost any more than the one we have now. We would just have to convince our parents, that's all_."

An exchange program? He can't be serious. Riku kept staring sternly at Sora, almost willing an answer from him. "Er...are you sure about this Riku? It is our last year here, and it would take a while to get used to the move..." Riku shifted his weight a little. "_Aww come on Sora. Don't you want to know what else is out there? Where is your sense of adventure?_" Sora looked down at the ground. Riku obviously had his mind set.

Riku smirked. "_Or are you afraid that it will be one more thing that I'm better at than you?" _Sora's face scrunched up into a determined gaze. "You wish!" Riku started walking off, obviously approving of Sora's reaction. _"Good. We will get the papers signed tonight then."_ Sora had to run to keep up with Riku. Riku always had a slight height advantage. And he used it every chance he got.

"Hey Riku! Wait up!" Riku stopped a few feet ahead of Sora, waiting for the boy to catch up. "Will you come with me to ask my parents?" Sora sounded short of breath. Riku kept his smug appearance. Waving a hand in the air he replied. "_Maybe."_ Sora immediately started to pout. Riku knew Sora was always timid about asking his parents for anything.

"Aww come on Riku. Don't you want someone you know to go to school with you?" Riku scratched his head like he had to think about it. This only resulted in more pouting on Sora's part. _"I guess I could use the company..." _Sora jumped up in glee. Riku was going to help him after all. _"Come on Sora. We have to go to my house first to get the papers. Then we will go ask your parents."_

They walked silently the rest of the way to Riku's house. Sora was both nervous and excited at the same time. He didn't know whether he really wanted permission or not. At the same time, he didn't want Riku to leave the island without him. Things just wouldn't be the same. And like he said, it was their last year of school.

Riku lived in a pretty nice house. Actually it wasn't much different than anyone else's. All the houses pretty much looked the same. Sora guessed that it was probably one of the things that made the island boring. Sora followed Riku into the house to get the papers. _"Now if they seem a little uneasy about the question just do that little pout you always do." _Sora immediately starting pouting. "I don't pout!" Riku just laughed. Sora was a hard one to convince sometimes.

The conversation went surprisingly well with Riku's parents. They seemed to think it was a good opportunity for him. They seemed to approve even more once they discovered that Sora also wanted to go.

Walking out the door Riku smiled at Sora. "_One down." _A feeling of dread went through Sora. He knew his parents would agree to pretty much anything, but he hated to ask. They were always really busy, and didn't like being disturbed. All Sora could do was hope that this meeting would go as well as it did with Riku's parents.

Sora slowly opened to door to his house. Secretly hoping that his parents wouldn't be home. That feeling of uneasiness increased as he saw them setting at the dining room table. They were eating their lunch together before getting back to their busy schedules. Sora walked slowly up to his parents, Riku close in pursuit.

It must have been Sora's lucky day. Not only were his parents in a good mood, but they agreed relatively quickly. Sora stammered, "th-thanks" as he walked out the front door. Riku gave Sora one of those see-that-wasn't-so-bad-looks. _"You up for one more trip?" _Sora nodded. He couldn't believe how productive the day had been.

_"We just have to drop the papers off." _Riku paused as if thinking about something. _"And get some transportation arranged. We are leaving the day after tomorrow after all." _Sora's eyes widened realizing how soon that was. Nothing got past Riku. _"Don't worry. I've got it all under control. It's all set up, they just need the forms."_ That was a good thing to hear, but it was still so soon.

They dropped their forms off , and left with a few brochures. It never occurred to Sora that he had absolutely no idea where he was headed to. Riku claimed that it was just another great part of the adventure. Something different and exciting. "So, uh...do you think they will like us?" Riku flipped through another page about the amazing outdoors. "_I don't know. Maybe."_ Sora's head fell down as if they gravity targeted it especially.

Riku punched Sora lightly on the arm. "Tag! You're it!" Sora couldn't help but return a huge smile. "But, Riku...You know there are no tag backs in tag!" Riku chuckled. _"I guess that means I win then?" _Sora gave him one of those you-wait-until-next-time looks. Riku couldn't be bothered. He knew Sora always forgot about those things. "_Go get some rest. Tomorrow is our last full day here."_

_xXx_

Sora woke up reenergized. His last full day on the island. He had to go talk to all his friends one last time. It will be a year before they see each other again. He found Wakka and Tidus sparring with wooden swords. It seems no one ever grew out of that stuff. "Hey you guys." Sora couldn't help but sound cheerful. He was looking forward to the trip.

Wakka looked over in Sora's direction, earning him a stab in the chest. "Ow! That hurt, ya!" "Sorry." Tidus looked smug about the win. Fair or not, it was still a win. "Is it true that you are leaving Sora?" They already knew. That was no surprise. These things spread like wildfire at the island. Sora smiled. "Yea, you know Riku. He talked me into it." Riku approached from behind. _"Oh is that so? I seem to remember you jumping up and down from the prospect of the whole situation." _

Sora shrugged his shoulders, leaving Riku to talk to his fellow islanders. Only to run into Kairi. She held her hands on her hips. "Where do you think you're going? You didn't think you would leave without saying bye did you?" Sora sat down on the edge of the pier. "Nah, you know I wouldn't do that." Kairi giggled for some unknown reason. "Don't ever change, Sora." "I won't." Riku came just in time. Kairi stood up. "Hey you guys, let's have one last race." _"Are you kidding me?" _Kairi giggled and started running.

Sora and Riku shared a glance before speeding past Kairi. Sora wasn't as good as Riku, but there was no way he was losing to a girl. Kairi stopped running some time back. Sora and Riku stopped at the bridge. Riku just ahead like always. Both guys were a little out of breath. "That was a close one." Riku watched as Sora started panting. _"Yet another win. What's the score now?" _

Sora looked up defiantly. Riku would always be the better runner. But Sora still had a shot at something else. The sun was already starting to go down. "We're leaving in the morning." Riku walked over to the tree to have something to lean against. _"Yea. It will be great, you'll see." _Sora walked over and plopped down on the tree. "I guess so..." They stood there in silence for a while. They were leaving tomorrow. It seemed unreal somehow. "Shouldn't we go make sure everything is packed?" _"Yea."_

Sora started to walk back ahead of Riku. "_Hey Sora!" _Sora turned around in time to catch a star shaped fruit. "Wha...?" _"The paupu fruit. When two people share one, they share the same destiny no matter what. Their lives will be intertwined." _Sora looked up confused. _"You've been wanting to try it, haven't you?" _Riku was now laughing at Sora. Sora threw the fruit down on the ground, blushing fiercely. "Whatever. Let's go home."


	2. Departure to a New Place

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing Kingdom Hearts related. There, are you happy?

**Departure to a New Place**

Sora woke up at five in the morning. Barely able to get dressed. He had to put his shoes on twice as he discovered they were on the wrong feet. He hoped Riku was making more progress than him. They had to get up extra early to catch a boat that would take them to the airport. Sora already had his stuff packed in the car, so all he had to do was get a ride from his mom.

The car ride was uneventful. Sora and Riku somehow made their way on the plane. "Ey, Riiikuu." _"Go back to sleep. It's too early." _Sora smiled dreary eyed at Riku. "Buh I'm too excited tah sweep." Riku just turned around in his seat to face the window. _"If you don't sleep now, you wont be able to explore once we get there." _"Eh..."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­xXx

Sora felt someone lightly shake his shoulder. _"Sora? Sora, wake up you lazy bum." _"Buh I dun wanna go to school..." Riku sighed as he placed one of Sora's arms around his neck. _"Come on Sora, we have to catch our ride." _Riku had to drag Sora to the waiting area of the airport. Checking his paper once more just to make sure. Yes, it's the right place. They are on time...But where is this Demyx guy? The one that's supposed to pick them up?

Riku put Sora down in a chair. That boy could sleep like a log. He sat down next to him, making sure the poor guy didn't fall over. Watching the younger boy even made Riku drowsy. _"Sora, wake up. He is going to be here any minute now." _Riku looked down at his watch. More time had passed than he thought. Sora was oblivious to fact as he was now sleeping against Riku's shoulder.

Finally Riku spotted someone approaching with a sign. It had their names on it. This must be Demyx. Riku dragged Sora out of his seat. "_Come on, it's time to go." _Sora's eyes widened. "When did we get here?" His smile broadened. "We are almost there, aren't we?" Riku marveled at how Sora could go from one extreme to another.

Demyx approached the area they were standing in. "You must be Riku, and Sora." Riku took on his smug appearance once again. "_You're late." _Demyx frowned. "Now that's just plain rude. I only asked who you were. I guess I could just tell the head of the school that you guys were no shows..." Sora was practically jumping up and down now. "No! You can't do that." Riku couldn't help but laugh at how seriously Sora took everything.

Demyx was an odd one. He had short blonde hair. A certain something or the other about him, that just made you want to watch out. Demyx pulled a paper out of his coat pocket. "Now let's see...Ah, yes. Pick up the kids...take them to the dorms...Riiiiight then. I told them they chose the wrong guy for this." Sora looked up with a questioning look. The guy had to read a paper to know what he was supposed to do. "You're weird." Demyx smirked. "You think so, do you?"

Riku gave Sora a warning look, and not another word came out. Demyx started walking. "Take your stuff. We're leaving now." Sora and Riku rolled their stuff down to an old Chevrolet they assumed must be Demyx's personal vehicle. They threw their stuff into the bed of the truck.

Demyx unfolded another piece of paper. This one had pictures on it. Sora didn't remember sending a picture...Riku must have done it. Demyx held the paper up to the light. "Riiiight. So Sora you can sit in the middle." Riku smirked, glad it wasn't himself.

Demyx was weird, no doubt about that. Sora scooted over, closer to Riku. Demyx quirked an eyebrow. "So you two are rooming together?" Riku glanced out the window, examining the new scenery. "_Yea. What of it?" _Demyx just laughed. "Then I'll be sure to watch over you guys then. Hmm?" Riku continued to gaze out the window. "Good news boys. I'm going to be the counselor on your dorms floor." A sound came from Riku's direction. It sounded a little like, hmph.

When they got to the dorm, Demyx handed them some packets. "Those are all the school rules, and your schedules for this year. You're on the second floor." He paused and looked down at his paper again. "Room 223." He searched around more of his pockets. "Your keys. If you lose them, there is a replacement fee. All in the packets..." He walked off letting Riku and Sora find their way around.

_"Come on Sora. Let's get our stuff up to the room, before everyone starts coming back."_ Everyone was still at lunch so they didn't have to worry about running into anyone on their way. Sora looked around. "I can't believe we are really here." _"I can. I've had this idea for ages." _

The dorm was actually pretty nice. Their were a couple of shared bathrooms on the floor. Sora made a mental note to get up early enough to get the warm water. As they started unpacking Sora began to shiver. It seems the dorm was air conditioned. Sora was used to spending his days out under the sun. Riku noticed this and turned the air down.

_"Isn't this great? We finally get to spend some time together." _Sora plopped down on his new bed. "What are you talking about? We are always together." Riku followed suit and sat down next to Sora. "_Yea. But we're always with Wakka, Tidus, Selphie, and worst of all Kairi." _Sora laid back. "Kairi's not that bad. She just likes hanging out with us." _"Let's go to lunch before the cafeteria closes."_

xXx

Chapter 3 should be up in a day or so. We get to meet some new people then, heh.


	3. Lunch and New Names

**Disclaimer: **Everything kingdom heartsish that you recognize doesn't belong to me.

Since I got a review from someone that likes this fic, I'm going to try to keep a steady pace on updating. I'm not promising an update every day, but close enough.

**Lunch and New Names**

The cafeteria was huge. They even had separate lines for different types of food. They chose to stand in the pizza line. It was relatively short. They just hoped that they would make it in time for the food. They stood behind a fiery red-head in the line. This guy turned around slowly, apparantly aware of the new students. "Well well well. What do we have here?" Riku stepped around so he was in front of Sora. _"Who are you?"_

"Name's Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" Axel walked off with his meal, disappearing somewhere within the cafeteria. Sora placed a carton of milk on his tray. "Still think this is a good idea? That guy looked like he was out to get us." Riku shook his head. _"He wont do anything. Come on Sora, think of who he would be dealing with." _Sora nodded. Riku always won everything back at the island. But what if things were different around here?

Sora spotted a table with some extra seats. There was only one boy setting there. He seemed sort of shy. Sora decided he would ask the blonde if they could set there. "Hey. Is it all right if we set with you?" The blonde looked up from the spaghetti he was stirring around on his plate. "Yea, I guess so." Riku sat down and started for the pizza. "_I'm Riku." _He waved his arm over. _"And that...is Sora." _"I'm Roxas. Are you guys new here?"

Sora stopped chewing for a minute. "Yea, we just got here this morning." "You should read over the rules then. You probably haven't done anything wrong yet, but trust me it's easy." Sora frowned at the mention of more rules. He always tried to follow them, but trouble seemed to somehow always find him. Especially when he was with Riku. _"Aww come on Sora, we will be fine." _Roxas started to get up. "Maybe we will have some classes together." Sora and Riku nodded, and the boy disappeared.

xXx

"He seemed pretty nice." Sora continued to stuff the dresser with clothes. _"Yea, I guess." _Sora looked over at Riku with a pout on his face. "Aww come on Riku, this is what you wanted isn't it?" Riku laid back on his bed with his arms folded under his head. _"Yea." _Sora sat on top of his desk and began looking through their schedules. "We have all the same classes." Riku stood up and walked over to see.

This seemed to cheer him up. _"So what are we taking this year?" _

"Government, Art, English, Study Hall, Latin, Trigonometry, and Ecology." Sora whined. "But these sound hard..." Riku grinned. Sora always underestimated himself. The schedule wasn't really all that bad. Some of those classes sounded easy. They would just have to work harder on the others. _"It's a block schedule. At least we wont have all those classes everyday." _Sora gave him that but-what-if-I-get-my-days-mixed-up looks.

_"Have I ever let you down before? Besides I already know this place is going to be better. There's no school uniforms." _Riku always complained back on the island about how they had to wear the same thing everyday. Everyone looked exactly the same, and how they were turning them into conformists.

_"Hey, Sora. Let's look around some before the days over." _Sora mumbled something about having to go to the bathroom so Riku just thought he would wait out in the hall. He saw Axel leaning against the wall on the other side of the hall. Riku just nodded in his direction. Axel was one of those types that only talked when they really had something to say. Sora on the other hand would talk about anything. He remembered once listening to a whole lecture about how there wasn't enough trees on the island.

Roxas walked by quietly to the stairwell. Riku noticed that Axel's eyes carefully followed the path of the blonde boy. "_Hmm..." _Axel averted his gaze back to Riku. "He will be mine one day, ya know?" Riku answered hesitantly. _"You like this Roxas guy?" _Axel walked over laughing to himself. "Only for the past two years. But the boy is too shy for his own good." "_I can relate." _

"Sora?" Riku grinned. _"Yea. You're quick to catch on, but at least I convinced him to come here with me." _Axel decided to lean against the wall again. "Yea, that's a start."

xXx

Sora walked out of the bathroom. "Before the end of this year, you will be thanking me." "_And what about..." _Riku noticed that Sora was once again present. Axel's grin broadened. "I can handle it." The red-head walked off looking particularly chipper. Sora looked curiously at Riku. "Did I miss something?" _"Nah."_

"Where are we going?" "_I don't know. I just felt like walking around."_ The walking trip wound up being the dorm. First they went downstairs to the first floor. Sora couldn't see that there was much to look at. Riku on the other hand seemed to be examining the names on the doors. "Why are we just walking around looking at doors?"

"_Where's your sense of adventure?"_ Sora glanced at yet another door before replying. "Somewhere more interesting then here..." _"Okay fine, we can go back to the room."_ Sora spotted Axel walking out of a room. "Oh hey you guys. Why don't you come in and join the congregation?" "_Sure. Why not?" _Sora looked over at Riku like he was crazy. Axel looked like he could give Riku a run for his reputation when it came to trouble-making.

xXx

Not much happening in this chapter, eh? I pretty much just wanted to introduce the characters and everything. Next up, Axel has a game of truth or dare planned. What's the worst that can happen? We shall see...


	4. Truth or Dare

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own anything...Surprising, ne?

Again, this isn't exactly my favorite story. So yea, it's not perfect...of course nothing I ever do is...but you get the point.

**Truth or Dare**

Sora followed Riku into the room. Upon entering he could see that Roxas was also there. Sora waved at the blonde. He didn't know many people yet, so he wanted to keep some friends. There were two people that he didn't recognize. Axel closed the door behind him. "You guys, this is Sora and Riku." He pointed at the other boys. "Sora, Riku. This is Roxas, Hayner, and Pence."

Sora decided to set on the floor next to Roxas. Riku then sat next to Sora, with Axel on his left side. Sora started twiddling his fingers. "So what's going on?" Axel smirked. "We were just playing a friendly game of truth or dare. Care to join us?" Sora looked at Riku as if to ask if he should. "Well...I guess..." Sora didn't like the evil look people always got in their eyes once they started a game of truth or dare.

Throughout the game people were asked to do silly things. Hayner had to do the chicken dance while singing the ABC's. Pence told them about how his little sister once forced him to wear makeup. Nothing too bad...**yet.**

Axel just finished calling a local radio station asking if they could play the song "pretty pretty princess" for him. Everyone laughed so hard when he had to repeat the name of the song four times. But that's when that glint showed up in his eyes. Searching the room for the perfect victim. "Riku."

Axel was grinning like a jaybird. "Truth or dare?" Riku sat still thinking about it for a minute. Everyone seemed particularly interested in what his response would be. _"That's easy. Dare." _"I dare you to come onto Sora. Make it convincing for us, kay?" Riku smirked at the request. He began to approach a rather red faced Sora. He could rival Axel's hair any day.

Riku pushed Sora up against the wall. Slowly closing the distance between him and the younger boy. Sora squirmed as Riku pressed his body against his. Riku drug his lips across the side of Sora's neck. Softly he said, "_Sora?" _Sora's face turned even redder. Riku whispered into his ear. _"I can make all your dreams come true." _Sora started mumbling incoherently, while the others were laughing their heads off. "Okay, that's good enough Riku. Who are you going to call on next?"

Riku quietly let Sora slide back down to the floor. He glanced over at a red faced Roxas. Axel ran a finger down Roxas' spine, making the boy shiver. _"Truth or dare, Roxas?" _Roxas looked up, terrified of his options. "Erm...truth..."

Someone knocked on the door. Axel got up slowly to see who it was. Demyx walked in. "It's good to see that you are getting to know each other. I heard Riku and Sora would be in here?" Riku stood up. _"Did we do something wrong?" _Demyx smirked, obviously aware of his advantage. "Would you two care to join me for a moment?" Riku looked at Axel and shrugged. _"Come on Sora."_

Sora's face was still bright red. "Wha-what d-did we do?" Demyx laughed. "You two haven't signed the rules sheet yet. Every student has to sign them and turn them into me." "O-oh..." Demyx looked from Sora and back to Riku. Giving Riku a what are you up to look. Demyx handed each a paper with a list of rules. Sure enough there was a line on the bottom for their signatures. Riku immediately signed his against the wall. Sora looked unsure. _"Aw come on Sora. It's just a rules sheet, everyone has to sign them." _Sora reluctantly took the pen and slowly signed his name. Demyx took the papers and strode away.

_"Hey Sora. Why are you so paranoid all of a sudden?" _"Wha...? Oh, um it's nothing. Maybe we should go get our books ready for tomorrow. We have all seven classes right?" Riku grabbed Sora's arm as he continued past their door. _"Our room's over here, remember?" _

xXx

Meh, so there it is. You just never know who is going to pop up, do you? Anyways, thanks for reading another chapter. Next up, the first day of class.


	5. First Day of Class

**Disclaimer: **Nothing Kingdom Hearts related belongs to me.

I really meant to update sooner, but I've had a ton of stuff to do around the house. I noticed that a few people put this fic on their favorite or story alert list. It really means a lot to me, to see that people are actually enjoying this fic. Much love to you all.

**First Day of Class**

Sora's alarm clock began to blare in his ear. He set it for 7am so he would be able to shower before breakfast. "C'mon Riku, you want breakfast don't you?" Riku rolled over so he was facing the wall. Then Sora came up with an idea. "The first one to shower and get to breakfast first wins." Riku jumped up, never being one to turn down a challenge.

xXx

The two boys walked down the hallway as fast as they could without it being considered running. Both boys had dripping wet hair from not drying themselves off properly after a hasty shower. Sora ended up tripping on his own feet, leaving Riku in the lead. _"I should start writing the scores down. How many wins does that make it for me?" _Sora slowly caught up with Riku, now that the older boy had slowed down. "Yea, but it got you out of bed." Riku huffed and turned back to the line.

Sora sat down to eat his breakfast at an empty table. Riku sat beside him eyeing the meal wearily. At least he thought it was a meal. Sora stabbed his fork at the rubbery piece of bread that was supposed to be french toast. Roxas came a minute later and sat down on the other side of the table. "Don't worry, it's just the breakfast they can't seem to make right. Everything else isn't too bad." Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh that's good. What class do you have for first period?"

Roxas pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket. "Physics..." Sora tried to chew the stuff they called food. "Well good luck on that. Me and Riku have government. Don't we Riku?" Riku was staring into space with his fork in midair. "Riku?" Riku put his fork down. "_Yea, government."_

Axel took the liberty to pull a chair up between the place Sora and Roxas were setting. He smiled at Sora. "Hey lover boy. Did you sleep good last night?" Sora's cheeks became slightly pink. He replied quietly, "yea." Riku smirked. Sora was the most emotional boy he knew. Roxas showed some sympathy before getting up to dump his tray. "See you guys later." Axel looked at Sora and Riku. "You better get your books. You probably don't even know where your class is, do you?"

Sora suddenly had a worried look on his face. "Come on Riku, we gotta go." Sora began to drag Riku down the hall back to the dorm. "We gotta get our books!" _"Slow down Sora, I'm sure being late one time won't kill us." _Sora looked devastated, he had never been late to a class in his whole life.

xXx

They ran to the building that their class was supposed to be in. Sora was literally panicking. "Where is it? I can't find the room!" Riku shook Sora slightly. _"It is going to be okay. Just calm down. The class isn't even on this floor." _Sure enough when Sora looked at his schedule it did say the class was on the second floor. _"I'm sorry Sora, but you have no sense of direction. Just follow me, kay?"_ Sora nodded dumbly, and followed Riku. They just managed to step in the classroom by the time the bell rang. Riku smiled. _"See, I told you it would work out."_

Riku walked to the back of the room and took the last desk in the corner of the room. Sora decided to set in the one in front of it. The teacher started passing papers out to everyone. "Would everyone please remove their hats?" It wasn't really a question, more like a demand. "And that applies to hoods too." The guy that had his head down on his desk next to Riku grunted. He pulled his hood down revealing a massive amount of red hair.

Sora grinned, if that was Axel, he would probably get into trouble a lot in this class. Well the class couldn't be too boring from what Sora could tell. He knew Riku had a knack for keeping things interesting. He didn't know much about Axel, but he didn't seem to be the quiet type.

xXx

The class wasn't too bad. The teacher just droned on about how things would be graded, and how they should all read the syllabus. Sora made a mental note about how he didn't have homework in this class. As the bell rang, Sora was glad that this was a short period. He didn't know how much more he could listen to the teacher go on about the grading system, or what color ink they were allowed to use.

This time he relied solely on Riku's directions to find the next class. "How did we get put into art?" _"They like their students to be well rounded." _"Huh?" Sora saw that Riku was reading one of the school's brochures. "I hope they only grade based on effort though..." Riku laughed. He knew Sora wasn't good at drawing...or anything art related really.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­xXx

So far the day had been uneventful. They finished up their third class of the day and went on to lunch. They made it in time to not have to wait forever in line. Sora practically had a bounce in his steps, everything was going great today. "Chicken nuggets!" _"Now if that could only be a test question. You would do great." _Sora sat down at the nearest available table. "Hey, I'm not that bad at school." It was true, he did pretty good in most of his classes. Although when it came to math, Riku was really his only hope.

A blonde girl came over to the table. It looked like that shy girl from art class. "You're Sora right?" "Yea, what's your name?" Everyone always loved Sora. It was just like on the island. She looked up at Riku who was watching her contently. "My name is Naminé. I'm in your art class. I just thought I should say hi, since you're new around here." Sora smiled. "Thanks. Do you want to set here with us?" She glanced back at Riku again, before responding. "No, someone's waiting for me." "Oh, well maybe next time then?" Her voice started to get quieter. "Yea."

Before popping another chicken nugget in his mouth, Riku said "_She likes you_." "Really? How do you know?" Riku shrugged before finishing off his milk. They met a good deal of other people during lunch, mostly girls. Riku held his calm demeanor as always. Sora found himself backing away as a couple of girls asked him if they could touch his hair. "Class...gotta go to..." As if on cue Riku got up and told everyone that he had to go too. Their were a couple "awws" that went through the cafeteria.

When they got out of the cafeteria, Sora took his schedule back out. "Why are they all acting like that?" Riku chuckled, pinching one of Sora's cheeks. _"Because they think you are cute." _Sora immediately tried to change the subject. "What are we supposed to do in study hall? We haven't got any homework yet." "Hey you guys." Roxas picked up his pace so he could walk beside Sora. "You have study hall too?" "Yup, I don't know what we are going to do in it though."

"Actually I do. I already have homework in physics." _"No way. Who would give homework on the first day?" _"Yea, that's what I get for signing up for advanced classes..."

xXx

Sora and Riku sat in the back of the classroom like always. Roxas was somewhere near the front trying not to get distracted. Sora put his paper on Riku's desk behind him. "You wanna be 'X' or 'O'?" Riku rolled his eyes, like he could think of a million better things than this. "X." For the rest of the period they mindlessly placed x's and o's on the paper. It was one thing that Sora sometimes won at. Riku would never let him count it though, saying that it was just a kiddy game.

They got through all their classes, amazingly without any homework. It seems Roxas was the only unlucky one. "Come on Riku, let's get our books together for tomorrow." _"But we just got out of class..." _Sora used his pout again. "It will give us more free time later." Riku gave in and started sorting through his books. "We skip first and fifth period tomorrow. So that means...we don't go to government, and Latin." _"What, you're not going to make us pick out clothes for tomorrow?" _Sora stood still for a minute. "You know that's not a bad idea..." _"Forget it." _

xXx

"Hey Riku." _"Hmm?" _Riku was busy making paper balls out of an art syllabus. He then proceeded to throw it to the trashcan on the other end of the room. "It's our last year of school." He missed, and got up to get the paper. _"Haven't we been over this already?" _Sora sat back in a chair with his legs propped up on his desk. "Yea, but it's our last year of school, ever. I just think we should do something memorable. Something we can look back on and be happy about."

Riku decided that the trashcan was an unworthy target of his syllabus, and instead threw the paper at Sora. "Ow! What did you do that for?" _"Because you worry too much, that's why. And don't worry, don't I always make our years memorable?" _Sora laughed. Yes, Riku had a way of making things stay with you. It was probably because Riku had no boundaries, and the fact that all the teachers liked him back on the island.

"Maybe we should go hiking this weekend?" _"You mean purposely walk around on rickety rocks when we can be doing absolutely nothing?" _"Aw come on, it could be fun." Sora held up a piece of paper. "And look at all the different kinds of trees they have." _"We'll see, but I'm not making any promises. If I can think of something better to do, I'm going to have to pass up the little nature trip of yours." _Sora grinned, he knew that if he whined enough about it, Riku would give in when the time came.

xXx

I like this chapter, I think it has its moments. The next chapter should hopefully be up by tomorrow. Thanks for reading.


	6. The Fan Club

**Disclaimer:** Nothing Kingdom Hearts related belongs to me.

Okay, so here is another chapter as promised. This one is a little on the shorter side, but the good news is that I have some longer ones coming up in the future.

**The Fan Club**

Riku was the first to get up in the morning. He walked over to see a sleeping Sora, his alarm still had one more minute before going off. Riku turned the alarm off, deciding he would wake Sora up himself. He couldn't stand that thing Sora called an alarm clock. He sat down on the edge of the bed, shaking Sora slightly. "_Time to get up. Wouldn't want to miss out on those wonderful drawings of yours in art class."_

Sora sat up. "You know, I think you are enjoying this too much. I'll find something you're not good at one day, you just wait." Riku chuckled. _"You already have. I will never be as naive as you." _Riku grabbed his shower bag and headed out of the room, before Sora could come up with a reply.

xXx

In art class the teacher told them to draw a picture of something they did over the summer break. Sora mumbled something about that being an unfair assignment. Riku leaned over to see Sora's paper. _"Come on Sora, you have to at least try." _"I don't know what to draw." Sora tried to look over at what Riku was drawing, but Riku covered his paper up. _"You can see it once you finish yours." _Sora gave up and started drawing the outline of the beach. He later drew in what looked like him and Riku fighting with wooden swords. If you scrunched your eyes, you could kind of see it.

Riku patted Sora on the back. _"See, that wasn't so bad."_ The blonde girl from yesterday was busy drawing a picture of the countryside. Sora noticed it to. "Hey that's pretty good. Is that from around here?" Naminé looked up not knowing she had an audience. She had a sweet smile. "It's a place I went to over the summer. It's about two hours from here." Sora scratched the back of his head. "Well it looks like a nice place."

The teacher got up from her desk. "Everyone should make sure their names are on their papers. Everyone should PRINT their names." Sora halfway didn't want to put his name on his paper. Maybe there would be some extra credit in this class? He looked over at Riku's drawing, which looked a whole lot better than his. Riku turned it so Sora could get a better view. It was a drawing of them setting on the Paupu tree. _"It's your favorite spot on the island, isn't it?" _

xXx

Sora was forced to set away from Riku at lunch. There were no tables that had two extra seats. Riku rolled his eyes as he sat down at a table full of giggling girls. Sora recognized Pence who was setting with some other people he didn't know. "It's Pence right?" The boy smiled. "Yea. That was some game huh? I think you and Riku definitely had the best dare." He started laughing while everyone around him just sat with blank stares. Sora had forgotten about that incident until now. "He looked very convincing." Sora tried to concentrate on his food. "Well he has never turned a dare down before."

Pence looked over at Riku's table. "You two have gathered quite a bit of fan girls." Sora looked down at the table. "Yea, I guess so." "So?" Sora was about to say 'so what' when Pence spoke again. "Is there anyone in particular that you like?" At some part in the conversation, Riku walked up behind Sora. _"How about it Sora? Is there a girl that you like?" _"Well...I don't really know anyone all that well yet. So, I wouldn't really know." Sora heard a few girls giggle. Pence stood up, ignoring the Riku and Sora fan club that gathered around. "I'm sure you will find someone." "What about you?" Pence smiled. "Oh that's easy. Olette."

xXx

That night Sora got into bed with images of the past few days racing through his head. "Hey Riku. Is there anyone you like?" Riku turned over on his side so he could face Sora. _"Maybe." _"So who is it that you might like?" Riku smirked. _"I guess you will just have to wait and see."_ That was a typical answer coming from Riku. He always loved to keep Sora guessing on these sorts of things.

"Those girls in the cafeteria. Do you think they really like us?" _"Of course they do. What's not to like." _"You don't think it's weird?" _"You get used to it. Now get some sleep." _"Hey Riku?" _"Yes?"_ "You were right. It is nice being able to hang out with you. We never got to talk like this back on the island." Riku rolled over on his other side. _"Go to sleep, Sora." _

xXx

In the next chapter, Roxas suspects something, and Sora tries to get some answers from Riku.


	7. Roxas Gets Suspicious

**Disclaimer: **As much as I'd love to say I owned Kingdom Hearts, it would be but a lie.

Like always, this isn't really my favorite story. I think it has it's moments though. This chapter pretty much sets things for future chapters. I'd like to thank everyone for reading this story, and of course to those who reviewed. It seems to be more popular than I thought it would be.

**Roxas Gets Suspicious **

During study hall Roxas gave up his usual seat in the front, to set with Riku and Sora. "Hey you guys. Do you think that Axel has been acting odd lately?" Riku slid down in his desk a little more. _"When doesn't he act odd?" _"I mean odder than usual." _"I don't know. I don't go around analyzing Axel every chance I get." _Roxas looked over at Sora, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Riku would know more than me. He is the one that talks to him all the time." "Oh..." Sora decided that since he didn't know anything, he would just go back to his homework.

He couldn't believe that it was already Friday. He was looking forward to the hiking trip he had planned for the weekend. Riku still hadn't mentioned anything about finding something better to do. Although, he wouldn't mind knowing what Axel and Riku talked about all the time. Sora could hear Roxas talking to Riku as he was finishing up his essay. "You're sure that you don't know anything? Sora's right you know. Axel does talk to you a lot." Riku waved his arm through the air. _"Maybe you should go talk to him, if you are so worried." _Roxas went back to his homework, appearing to be deep in thought.

xXx

Roxas grabbed Sora's arm after class. "I'll just be a minute, you can go on to class if you want to." Riku looked at Sora as if he didn't think that would work out, but continued walking anyway. "I think they are working together on something." Sora shuffled his books so he would be ready for class. "Who is?" Roxas rolled his eyes as they began walking down the hallway. "Axel and Riku." Sora stopped in mid-step. "What do you think they are up to?"

Sora entered his next class without getting a reply from Roxas. Now curiosity got the better of him. He was going to ask Riku what was going on tonight. Sora had to endure the rest of his classes without talking to Riku. That didn't stop him from trying to figure out what was going on though. Riku was already the master of mystery, and now he is hanging out with this Axel guy. If only he could hear what they talk about when he is not around.

xXx

After classes the two boys went to drop their books off in their room. "Roxas thinks that you and Axel are up to something." Riku decided that he would rather set on top of Sora's desk instead of a chair. _"Oh really?" _"You're not planning anything are you?" Riku definitely looked smug about something. _"You're the one that wanted the last year of school to be memorable." _Sora frowned. "So you are planning something." _"Only time will tell."_

Riku picked his book bag up and started going through it. _"I almost forgot. I got something for you." _Riku threw something at Sora. Upon further inspection, Sora discovered that it was a pink pet eraser. _"It might work better for art class than the erasers on your pencils." _"I don't use erasers that much." Riku picked up one of Sora's pencils. _"Either that or you chew them off."_ The pencil showed no evidence that an eraser once resided in the metal attached to the end.

_"Let's go ahead and work on our art project. We might be able to finish before dinner." _"But I'm not good at art..." _"It's a group project, I wont let you mess it up."_ "You sure you want me as your partner?" Riku preceded to get some paper out and placed a pencil in Sora's hand. Sora looked at Riku with his, you'll be sorry expression. _"It's just a poster." _

That's what Sora was worried about. It was a poster, and would be hung up on one of the schools many bulletin boards. _"Come on Sora, I'll draw the letters and you can help color it. How does that sound?" _Sora nodded his head reluctantly. Riku took out the paper that had the assignment on it. _"It's due on Monday...Okay I think we just have to say that the dance is on Saturday, at 8:30pm." _

Sora watched as Riku continued to draw the bubbly letters on the sign. "What do you and Axel talk about all the time?" _"Nothing really. You can go ahead and start coloring. Use the red pencil over there." _Sora began coloring the inside of the letters that were already drawn. "You're just trying to distract me." _"No, I'm just refusing to fill you in." _Riku grinned, knowing how much it killed Sora not to know what was going on.

"Yea, well either I'm going to figure it out or Roxas will." Riku continued to draw the rest of the letters. _"I bet Roxas will figure it out first then."_ "Why is that? I could figure it out, you know." Riku picked up another red pencil to help Sora color in the rest of the letters. "Hey, I'm going to go to the bathroom." Sora left the room, forcing Riku to color on his own.

xXx

He walked down the hallway past the bathroom. He wanted to talk to Roxas. He knocked on the door to the room he was looking for. Axel walked out, looking happy about something. "Come in." Roxas closed the door after Sora entered the small room. "Have you figured out what's been going on?" Roxas shook his head. "I couldn't get Axel to tell me anything. He just kept laughing, saying I would find out soon enough."

Sora frowned. "Yea, that's pretty much what I got out of Riku. Hey listen, me and Riku are going out to the hiking trail tomorrow. You should see if you can get Axel to come with you." Roxas smiled. "Yea, they wont be able to get out of it then. I'll see if I can catch up with him." With that Sora frowned. "I told Riku I was going to the bathroom...I hope he doesn't notice how long I've been gone. I gotta get back to my room. Can I count on seeing you tomorrow at breakfast?" Roxas nodded, "I'll be there."

xXx

When Sora got back to his room, Riku had already finished the poster. _"Took you long enough." _Sora decided to tell a half-truth. "Well someone wanted to talk to me." Riku eyed him carefully, but didn't question his friend. _"Well we should go down to dinner."_

_xXx_

Next chapter, they all go hiking. Sounds boring I know, but I promise it has its fun parts.


	8. Nature Trails

**Disclaimer: **If it resembles Kingdom Hearts, I don't own it.

Wow, I didn't realize how long it has been since I've updated. Sorry about that. I promise I will finish this story. I can't start something and then abandon it, especially not when I've got this far. This chapter was slightly longer though...3144 words. Thank you all for the lovely reviews. It also means a lot to me that people have favorited or added this story to their story alert lists.

Much Love

**Nature Trails **

Sora woke up that morning, excited about the hiking trip. "Hey Riku! Wake up, we are going hiking!" Riku slowly sat up in his bed, most of his hair covering his eyes. "_What's the point in going hiking? Don't we get enough exercise walking up and down the steps all day?" _Sora was now pulling on Riku's arm, trying to drag the boy out of bed. Riku finally stood up. "_Okay, okay. But next time, I'm choosing the activities."_

Sora practically skipped to breakfast, while Riku walked solemnly behind with his head watching the floor. Riku never saw the point in going to breakfast. It's not like they actually served food. Well they served something that remotely resembled food. Riku had a hard time watching Sora eat a plate of rubbery eggs. "_How can you eat that stuff?" _Sora shrugged and took another bite. "It doesn't really have any flavor."

Roxas showed up, like Riku he was foodless. He glanced over at the substance on Sora's plate. It didn't seem to be a solid or a liquid, he couldn't quite figure it out. Maybe it could be his next physics project.

Finally Sora finished off his orange juice, "so where is Axel?" Roxas shrugged. "He said he would be here. He's not exactly the come early type. Did you hear which chaperone they stuck with us for this trip?" Riku and Sora shook their heads. "Demyx." A distinct 'hmph' sound came from Riku's side of the table. Riku never seemed to like the guy.

Sora stood up to dump his tray. "Well then, Axel might show up on time after all. If Demyx is our chaperone for the day, he will probably be late. He was late when he picked me and Riku up from the airport." Riku laughed. "_You would have never noticed if I didn't tell you. You slept threw it all."_ Sora crossed his arms over his chest. "Well I had to get up early." Roxas decided now as a good time to use the table as a pillow, and stayed out of the conversation.

Riku watched as the expected redhead showed up. Roxas had definitely picked the wrong side of the table to set at. He jumped up startled by the fact that someone came up behind him and grabbed his waist with both arms. "Mornin, Roxas." Roxas pushed the arms away and distanced himself from the rather deviant redhead.

Riku leaned back in his chair, listening to Sora rant on about how sleep is important - or something like that. Roxas looked good with Axel. Their differing styles blended making a nice contrast. Contrast? Eh, he was paying too much attention to art class. He wondered what him and Sora would look like together. They were always together, but that was something completely different. He didn't have much time to think about it. His favorite chaperone showed up.

"What is wrong with you kids anyway? Extra walking on the weekend..." Demyx looked about as annoyed by the concept as he first was, when Sora came up with the idea. Sora was so excited about it, he couldn't turn the boy down. He listened for hours about how many different kinds of trees there were, and what animals we might see...Riku thought amusedly to himself, that boy would think a trip to the garbage dump was exciting. Demyx looked around counting off the heads. "Okay, you must be the four that wanted to go." He looked really funny with his hands on his hips like that. Riku's jaw dropped when he noticed what Demyx was wearing. No guy should ever wear cut off shorts like that. Never. Demyx winked at Riku when everyone headed toward the door.

­­

xXx

Well Sora was right, there definitely was a lot of trees. "Hey Riku." _"Hmm?" _"Do you think there are any bears up here?" Riku continued to walk in front of Sora, not replying. "You don't think there are bears do you?" Riku laughed, "_there might be_." "Oh...well erm...they wouldn't go near a crowd would they?" Axel walked up beside Sora. "I heard they like the short ones the most." Axel smirked, "I guess you better watch out too, Roxas."

Sora started looking around at the trees. "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know anything about bears." "Your call." With that Axel caught up with Riku, leaving the two boys to follow. Demyx was somewhere back on the trail. He insisted on taking a 'leisurely' pace. Which really meant he was too lazy to care how far his students were ahead of him.

Now that was something Riku was thankful for. He didn't have to watch Demyx strut around in those short shorts. He just hoped he would be able to get that image out of his head before he fell asleep that night. "Agh!" Riku was surprised to find Sora clinging onto his waist. "_What is it?"_ He looked around and saw some squirrels run across the path. "_Is that what you saw?" _"I-I don't know." Roxas was too busy knocking a spider web out of his hair to notice all the fuss.

"I changed my mind. Let's go back." Sora was still clinging onto Riku's shirt. "_C'mon Sora, you wanted to go hiking._" Sora nodded his head defiantly, "we can go back." _"No way. You drug me up here, we are going to finish this." _"But you didn't even want to come..." Riku laughed. "_Exactly." _

Roxas managed to stumble and fall in some gravel. Axel stood there watching Roxas sit up on the ground. "Hey Riku, wanna play a game?" Riku ran his fingers through his silver hair, "_I'm always up for a challenge." _"You can carry Sora, and I'll carry Roxas. Whoever has to put their person down first loses." _"And what does the winner get?" _"The loser has to buy pizza for the group. Is it a deal?" Roxas had already stood up and was starting to back down the trail without being noticed. Sora never even noticed he was still holding onto Riku's shirt.

Axel easily caught up with Roxas and picked him up bridal style. "Nooooooo! Let me down!" Riku was quick to do the same with Sora. "_So should we head back now?" _Axel nodded as he tightened his grip on Roxas. "Careful. Don't want to fall." Sora clung tighter to Riku as the pace quickened. "Don't let me go." Riku laughed again. Sora probably wondered by now why was everything always so funny with him. _"No problem. There's no way I'm losing this." _

"But you didn't even ask us if we agreed to this. What if we all fall over the cliff or something?" Sora could see Axel whisper something to Riku. Whatever it was, Riku agreed with it, because he nodded his head. "You know it's not a bad view from up here." Axel stood close to the edge of a steep hill. "What do you think Roxas?" "Erm..." Riku stood at the edge next to Axel. Sora had his eyes closed tightly. "I'm not looking." _"Oh really? I guess we better head on then Axel."_ Riku turned around and started to walk. Sora thought it was safe to open his eyes again, but the discovered that they were back at the edge again. "Riku!"

Riku couldn't help but laugh. Sora screamed like a little girl. "_Next time you will let me choose how to spend our free time?"_ "Yea..." _"Good."_ They finally ran into Demyx. Demyx apparently decided that he would rather set on a rather large rock than take the trail. He raised an eyebrow before speaking. "If anything happens to you hooligans, I'm responsible. So I'm going to have to ask you to put the boys down." The two boys reluctantly put their bet down. "Tie?" _"Sure." _

"_I think you gained weight, Sora." _The boy glared back in Riku's direction. "I have not gained weight! I'm just taller then I used to be!" Riku patted Sora on the back and walked away, looking rather smug. Axel playfully patted Roxas' belly. "Gee Roxas, maybe you should lay off the ice cream." Roxas shot back a death glare before walking away. He muttered something about not being fat, and that Axel was just trying to make him mad.

xXx

When they arrived back at the dorm, Demyx stormed off like he had something important to do. Sleep no doubt. Riku guided the disgruntled Sora back to their room. "I haven't gained weight." Sora crossed his arms. "And I'm not fat either!" Riku just smiled before grabbing the sides of Sora's waist. "_No, but you do have adorable little love handles."_ Sora batted Riku's arms away, before resorting to his usual pout.

As many times as he saw that pout, it always got to him. "_Aww…come on Sora. I think it's cute." _"Why are you always so mean to me?" Riku laughed. "_Because I like seeing you get all worked up like this." _Sora slung his pillow at Riku's head, and suddenly realized that that was a big mistake. "Uh…I didn't me…" Too late, an evil smirk had already appeared on Riku's face. _"You know this means war."_

Riku quickly picked up his own pillow, and began hitting Sora repeatedly, before the poor boy even had a chance to fight back. Sora crawled across the bed, trying desperately to reach the pillow that started this whole fiasco. Riku tackled Sora on the bed, with the pillow just out of reach. "_Oh no you don't!" _

Sora finally came up with a plan. All he needed was a short diversion, before he ran out of the room. He looked up at the silver haired boy that currently had him pinned down. "H-hey Riku…" _"Hmm?" _"Your fly is undone." That worked. Sure enough Riku left his current position only to discover that the zipper was already up. Sora scurried across the room, trying not to trip. He ran out the door laughing manically. _"Cheater!"_

_xXx_

Knowing that Sora would come back eventually, Riku decided to find Axel. He would finally get to discuss how things were going again. That's how he ended up knocking on Axel's door. Some blonde boy came to the door. "Are you looking for Axel?" _"Yea. Is he around?" _The blonde pointed over to a bed in the corner of the room. Axel seemed to be taking a nap. It was actually a pretty funny site. Riku could see one of Axel's legs hanging out of the covers, along with the back of his Linkin Park t-shirt.

Riku figured black must have been Axel's favorite color. That's what he wore all the time anyway. Today was no exception. The only color came from the ragged blue jeans the red-head seemed to take a liking to. The blonde went back to lock the door. Maybe he was the paranoid type or something. But then again, if he lived with Axel, he probably had to be.

"Want me to wake him up?" "_Oh…erm yea, okay."_ The blonde flashed a wicked smile before grabbing a water bottle off of his nightstand. Before Riku could say anything, the contents of the bottle were being dumped on the sleeping form in the corner of the room. "Cloud!" Cloud smirked, seemingly happy with what he accomplished. "You have company." Riku looked from one person to the next, stunned at what he just witnessed. No wonder Axel is so mischievous. "Take care." Cloud walked out of the room, leaving Axel to dry off.

"_I didn't know he was going to do that." _Axel shrugged before picking up a shirt off of his roomies bed. He then proceeded to use it as a towel to dry off with. "Don't worry about it. I'll get him back when the time comes." "_How are things going with Roxas?"_ Axel chuckled. "Oh he went on for a good two hours about how he wasn't fat, and that he didn't have to talk to me anymore…" _"He still coming over tonight then?" _"If he doesn't I'll drag his scrawny butt over to your room." Riku had to laugh. "_They are so touchy about their weight. I think they would make perfect girls." _

Axel threw the now wet shirt back on Cloud's bed. Hopefully it would dampen the blankets a little before the blonde got back. "I don't know if they would be as cute as girls." A grin appeared on Axel's face. "But I wouldn't mind seeing Roxas in a little dress…" Riku ran a hand through his hair, pondering what color would best suit Sora. He would never wear a dress of course, but a guy could dream.

"Your lucky, at least you get to sleep in the same room." Riku shook his head, "_I'm starting to have my doubts. I mean I'm not even sure what his sexual preference is, he's never even been out on a date_." "Maybe he is saving himself for you." Riku laughed. "_He has no idea." _"Yea, I'm starting to get that feeling about Roxas. We might have to spell it out for them, heh?" Riku looked sadly at the ground. "_I hope he isn't into girls at least…" _"He's already turned Naminé down a few times. Every guy in the school wants to date her. Or so I'm told." He did turn the girl down. That made things less complicated than they could be. Still it could have been because Sora was shy around girls, or anyone he didn't know all that well. Riku walked over to the phone. "_So what kind of pizza do we want?"_

_xXx_

By the time Riku and Axel got back upstairs with the pizza, Sora and Roxas were waiting in the room. "Food!" Riku rolled his eyes. _"Nice to see you too."_ The four of them decided it was best that they set on the floor. That way if there was a mess, it would be easier to clean.

Axel decided he would start the conversation. "So, Sora…" Sora looked up still chewing on the pizzaie goodness. "What do you think about Naminé? Everyone knows she has a huge crush on you." "Oh, I guess she's alright. She seems like a nice person." This time Riku took part in the conversation. _"What do you think Sora? Is she girlfriend material?" _Sora looked up thoughtfully, as if he had to study every word. "I don't really like her that way…"

"Is there anyone you like?" Sora looked over at Roxas, disappointed that the boy was taking part in this too. "I dunno…" Now back to Axel. "Any preferences? Do you prefer blondes or brunettes and what-not?" Sora crossed his arms. "What is this? Twenty questions?" Everyone laughed at how easy Sora got perturbed. _"Relax. We are only trying to get to know you better. Personally I'd have to say I prefer the brunettes."_ Axel swallowed another bite before looking over at Roxas. "What type are you into?" To everyone's surprise, the boys face turned an interesting shade of pink. "Oh…ya know…" Axel smirked. He found a good topic. Anything that made his beloved Roxas blush, was a good topic to him.

xXx

Sora was the first to notice the lack of sleeping accommodations. "Who all has to sleep on the floor?" Riku fluffed up his pillow before throwing it on his bed. "_I'm not sleeping on the floor." _ Sora looked hopefully back to his bed. It seems he was too late though. Axel was rearranging the blankets to his liking. "You don't think we could turn the air on for a while?" Riku nodded before turning the knob on the AC. Sora tried his best to hide his adorable pout. Riku caught it anyway, and planned to store it in his mind savoring every second of it.

Roxas looked over in Sora's direction. "I guess we get to be the lucky floor dwellers." Sora braced himself for the rough night ahead. Sleeping on the floor, and suffering from the coldness of the room. Roxas looked over at the space on the bed that Axel wasn't occupying, before he decided he would rather not sleep on the floor. "Move over, I'm sleeping on the bed too."

Sora continued to unroll his sleeping bag on the floor. It was only one night after all. How bad could it be? Riku patted the side of the bed. _"Come on Sora, are you afraid I have cooties or something?"_ Sora looked up at the comfortable looking bed. "No…I'm fine on the floor." _"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were afraid to sleep with me. I'm hurt."_ That's it. He can't handle the guilt trip. Riku always got the best of him this way. It felt like leaving a puppy out in the rain. "Okay, okay." Sora climbed into bed next to Riku. Careful to give his silver haired friend enough moving room. Riku reached back and turned the lamp off.

The whole hiking trip must have worn everybody out. It didn't take longer than five minutes for them all to fall asleep. Which in a way totally defeated the purpose of having a sleepover, if no one was going to stay up to the early hours of the morning. The total inability to string together coherent thoughts. Laughing insanely at the most stupid things. They would have to try it again some other weekend, without the hiking trip. No one even bothered to change into their pajamas.

xXx

Sora woke up to find that his leg was draped over Riku's body, and one of his arms was thrown over Riku's sleeping form. He was also surprised to see that Riku's arm was cast around his waist, binding him to that spot. He tried to move slowly, so he wouldn't wake Riku up, but to no avail. Riku's arm just crushed him closer to him. Okay, this obviously wasn't going to work. "Riku?" _"…cow shot me…crazy cow…" _Sora tried his best not to laugh. It didn't work quite so well. In fact that's what ended up waking his friend up. Sora was glad that he at least was able to get his leg back to his side of the bed before Riku woke up. Riku looked dazedly over at Sora, before removing his arm. "Oh sorry, Sora. I guess it got cold last night…"

It was really cold in the room. Sora walked over to turn the AC off. It seems Axel and Roxas had the same problem. Roxas' back was turned to Axel. He didn't see how Axel could sleep with Roxas' hair in his face like that. He figured he would rather be out of the room before they woke up. "Ima go shower." He picked up his shower stuff and headed out of the room. Riku just let himself fall back asleep. It was still the weekend after all.

xXx

Next chapter, Roxas gives Sora something to think about. Something that could change his view on everything. That's all I'm saying for now. I'll try to update quicker this time.


	9. Study Buddies

**Disclaimer: **After all this time, I own nothing. In other words, Kingdom Hearts stuff is not mine.

Sorry about taking forever to update. I don't really have anything to say this time, so errr…enjoy the chapter?

**Study Buddies**

"I think the sleepover went rather well." Riku didn't even try to hide his grin. _"Yea. Good thing Sora is such a heavy sleeper. I was so scared he was going to wake up when I moved his leg…" _"Roxas slept just as well. I think he was cold too…" _"I always knew I liked the fact Sora got cold so easy. Poor boy, probably was scared I would find him wrapped around me like that."_ "Now, to get back at Cloud…" Axel walked the rest of the way to his room, with an evil glint in his eye. Riku shook his head, not seeing how the red-head could change his personality so much.

Maybe I should just go ahead and ask Sora what he thinks about me. No, if I did that now...he might not want to talk to me anymore. Clueless Sora is better than no Sora. After last night, nothing could bring him down. It just felt so right having Sora wrapped around him like that. Sure he may have helped a little with the positioning, but the boy hadn't screamed out in terror once he woke up. That's always a good sign. Although he wished he knew what went on in his friend's head.

Sunday was pretty uneventful. Riku and Sora spent most of the day outside. There was a perfect tree outside in the courtyard. It was just the right shape and size to lean against comfortably. They had filled the day with idle talk. Everything from homework to their childhood.

Riku loved how Sora always remembered the good things in life. It was like the time Sora got stung by a jellyfish. He didn't seem too upset about it, he was more excited about the ice-cream that was offered to him to make him feel better. Riku smiled, he would have to buy the boy some ice-cream one day.

xXx

Sora was sure to change the bed before going to sleep that night. It's not that he really minded Axel and Roxas. It was just that it felt a little weird to have other people sleeping in his bed. Riku snuggled up in his own covers, secretly thinking about last night. Sora was the first to fall asleep, oblivious to the craziness of the world.

Riku soon woke up, tempted to throw his blaring alarm clock across the room. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that the thing would probably keep going off anyway. Sora never ceased to amaze him. One day he would be up bright and early, and the next it would seem a permanent slumber. _"Wake up Sora. We gotta get ready for class." _Sora sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly. "What day is it?" _"Mondaaaay."_ "Eh..."

Sora walked drudgingly across the room. Slowly picking up all the morning necessities, before heading off to the showers. Riku looked over at the towel Sora left on his bed. This could be interesting. Riku picked up his own stuff before grabbing Sora's towel.

Riku laughed to himself. Just because it was still early, didn't mean he couldn't pick on the boy. He walked in the shower room, and as expected, only one of the curtains was drawn shut. The two of them made a habit out of getting up earlier than everyone. The warm water was well worth it. It didn't hurt that there was no line to wait on either...

Sora had his clothes neatly piled up in front of the curtain. Riku knew he could always steal the clothes if he wanted to...but he was too nice to do that. He shuddered at the thought of someone doing that to him. No he had a better idea. He slowly slipped his hand through the side of the curtain a little, grabbing the inside of it. Deliberately trying to make his movements noticed.

"Whoa!" Just as expected Sora immediately started batting at his hand. "Go away!" Riku let out a long laugh before clueing the boy in. _"You left your towel in the room."_ The batting of the hand ceased. "Oh...Riku?" _"Who else would be up this early?"_ Riku draped the towel over the side of the curtain for Sora.

xXx

Sora breathed a heavy sigh before rinsing the remaining shampoo out of his hair. That was a close one. He had always been terrified that someone would open the curtain on him like that. And to make things worse, he didn't even have his towel to cover up with that time. He was thankful that Riku had brought his towel at least. Maybe his approach was a little cruel though.

Government was as boring as ever. Sora was determined to get a decent grade in that class though. He practically wrote down everything the teacher said. He frowned as he tried to remember all the branches of the government. He would have to study tonight. Maybe I can study in Roxas' room. Riku never lets me get much done. I have no idea how his grades are so good. He barely pays attention to the lectures.

When classes finally ended, Sora was still feeling a little down. He was going to have at least three tests this week. Riku made it a habit of talking to Sora in Latin for the past few days. Sora knew he was trying to help, but it really made everything more confusing. _"The best way of learning, is to apply...er something like that..." _"Yea, okay." Sora crashed into Riku's side as he was looking up his reply in Latin. He knew most of the vocabulary. It was really conjugating verbs that got him.

Riku just laughed, as he wrapped his arm around Sora's neck. _"You know, I can teach you a trick for that."_ "Really?" _"Let's go back to the room first. I don't want you falling down the steps or anything."_ After a good deal of studying, Sora decided he would go work in Roxas' room. It was kind of a habit Sora developed. First he would always get help from Riku, and then he would head over to Roxas' room to finish the rest of his homework. Roxas' roommate never showed up during the day time.

He figured it was good to have a little variation in his daily schedule. And plus he didn't really want Riku to get tired of him. They were together practically the whole time.

xXx

Sora was actually quite proud of himself. He finished his homework in record time, despite the fact that a good deal of the time was spent studying with Riku earlier on. "Sora?" Sora looked up from his mess of papers, "yea?" "Do you think it's alright for a guy to like another guy?" Roxas shifted uncomfortably on his bed. "Huh?" "I-I think I might be...well ya know attracted to someone. Someone that happens to be a guy..." Sora stopped shifting through his papers. "Oh, uh I dunno. I guess if you really like this guy you should give it a chance. That is if he feels the same way." Roxas grinned, "yea, you're right." He jumped off his bed and started going through his school books. "So who is this guy exactly?" Roxas quietly muttered, "Axel..." He ran a hand through his hair. "What about you? Still no one that you like?"

Sora tried to stack his papers neatly, but he seemed to have butterfingers. All his work fell unceremoniously to the floor. Sora groaned. It wasn't so much about the papers, but the reason he dropped the papers. He never really thought about who he liked, and that seemed to be the million dollar question of the day. He supposed that if he were back on the island he would say he liked Kairi. But was that true? A vision popped up in his head of Riku laying on the sand letting the ocean wet his tangled hair. "I've got to go work on something." Sora grabbed all his stuff off the floor not caring that it wasn't in order and stalked to the door.

He tried to ignore the thoughts that kept rushing through his mind. No he was definitely straight. He always was. He was never attracted to a boy before. He was okay with the fact that Roxas was though.

I guess I can see why Roxas would think Axel is attractive. He does have a rather nice physic. Wait a minute…did I just think that? No. Nuh-uh. Kairi. Kairi Kairi Kairi Kairi. Well maybe that would be a little weird. I could never think of her as more than a sister. Sora shivered at that thought. Sister…eh.

When Sora went back to his room, it never occurred to him that Riku would still be there. He didn't really feel like talking at the moment, so he just jumped in his bed and threw the cover over his head. He could feel Riku's gaze burning through the blanket, but he wasn't going to give in this time.

_"Sora?"_ Oh no he sounds worried. _"Is something wrong?" _Does he sound closer this time? Sora felt the weight on the bed shift as Riku sat down next to him. "Just tired..." Sora rolled his eyes. Oh yea that's a good excuse...He felt a warm hand rest on his back. _"You know, you can talk to me."_ How can I get out of this? This is a little...awkward?

Riku's hand slid gently up and down Sora's back. Okay...if I just stay quiet, maybe he will go away. Sora felt his face go red as he remembered the game of truth or dare they played earlier that year. Riku was so close to him then. The words still echoed in his head. _"I can make all your dreams come true."_ No, it was just a game. He didn't really mean it. What am I so worried about? I don't like him that way. I couldn't. Could I? I'm just stressed out, that's all. Too many tests.

"I guess I'm just a little stressed..." Riku quit rubbing his back. _"Okay? But I would still feel better about it, if you would talk to me out of the cover."_ Sora slowly sat up, hoping he didn't look too bad. Riku pulled him in for a hug. _"It will be okay. You know this stuff. You just need to calm down a little, and you will do fine." _Sora nodded his head. He wasn't afraid of the tests at all. He knew the material front and back.

"Let's just go get something to eat." Riku nodded his head, but still looked a little worried. Having something to eat, actually made Sora feel better. All he had to do was go on with life. Nothing changed. He figured his questioning of his sexuality was due to a momentary lapse of sanity. That sounded good to him.

xXx

The day went by faster than Sora could have imagined. He soon found himself lying in bed, waiting to drift off into the land of nod. He found it a little hard to fall asleep though. Across the room, he could see Riku staring at him intently. No doubt worried that his friend might have another nervous break down. He turned around so he wouldn't have to watch Riku. He could still feel his gaze though. It felt as if it burned through his back side.

xXx

Next chapter: The dance takes place. Will Sora finally come to realize his feelings for Riku? Or will he continue to shun them away? Will Roxas confront Axel?

--I'm seriously going to try to get this chapter up soon, you guys! Sorry I get so easily distracted away from this fic. I will finish it, if it's the last thing I do!


	10. Shall We Dance?

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything Kingdom Hearts related, so _meh._

**Word Count: **2494

Yay, a quick update. Hope you guys like it.

-much love-

**Shall We Dance?**

Sora worried about his school work for nothing. He made pretty decent grades on all his tests, and even managed a high 'B' on a pop quiz in Trigonometry. It was finally Friday. Somehow it seemed like the longest week Sora ever had to endure. It seemed like a lot of girls were watching him through all his classes. A few times he thought they would approach him, but they always just turned around and went back to whatever they were doing.

Normally he would be happy that it was Friday, but today he just didn't feel all that well. He somehow managed to get through all his classes. Sora was thankful that the teachers went easy on them because of the dance that was coming up tomorrow night. He had completely forgotten about that too. He never got to ask anyone if they wanted to go with him. Of course he might not get to go anyway, if he doesn't get to feeling better.

As Sora was walking down the hallway, he tried to figure out why his book bag felt lighter. Did he leave his book in the classroom? He was sure he remembered putting it back into his book bag. He didn't really care. He just wanted to go lay down for a while. He felt _horrible._

xXx

When they reached the room, Sora decided he was going to lay down. Riku paced back and forth as quietly as he could. Before unpacking some of his books. Sora halfway wondered why Riku had two English books. He found that he didn't really care. He just wanted to feel better. Soon, preferably.

Sora felt Riku's cool fingers on his forehead for what must have been the tenth time that day. _"I think your temperature has gone down a little. Maybe you will feel better if you take a nap."_ "Heh..." _"I'm going to dinner. Is there anything you want me to bring back?"_ Sora shook his head. "Not really hungry."

Riku shut the door carefully behind him. He really hated to see Sora sick like that. Especially when the dance was...What is he thinking? Sora isn't going to want to go to the dance with him. He smiled inwardly. No one had asked Sora to go to the dance that weekend. Of course most of the girls really preferred to be asked themselves. Although mostly, it was because Riku would give a death glare to any girl that came within a few feet of Sora.

When he got to the cafeteria, he found that he wasn't really hungry either. He would at least bring something back for Sora. Just in case the boy changed his mind. He looked through the food selections of the day. He didn't really see anything someone sick would want to eat. He settled on some peanut butter cookies. That was something Sora never turned down. Not the healthiest food in the world...but better than nothing.

xXx

Riku came back to the room, to discover that Sora had taken his advice and went to sleep. Riku sighed. He loved how peaceful Sora looked when he was sleeping. It was like the boy was able to find his own haven of tranquility in whatever sugar coated dreams he had. Riku had always imagined that Sora had those sort of dreams anyway.

He didn't know how long he watched Sora's sleeping form, until the boy's eyes fluttered open. He almost looked like he was trying to figure out where he was. Riku thought to himself, that Sora was like an angel from heaven. His smile immediately turned into a smirk. No, Sora was no angel. The boy had his evil side. But he loved them both. The good and the bad.

_"Sora baby? You have to eat something." _Riku stuck his lower lip out, trying to imitate Sora's usual pout when things weren't going his way. Sora tried his best to hide the smile that was creeping up on his face. "What's in it for me?" Riku smirked. Yea, Sora was definitely feeling better now. Riku unwrapped the cookies he put in a napkin for the boy. "Cookies!" Riku held his hand back a little. _"I dunno, you don't really look sick anymore...And cookies are not really a meal." _"If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked me being sick." Riku laughed as he handed over the cookies. _"But you looked so helpless..." _

Sora was currently ignoring his friend. He had more important matters to attend to. Like for instance, devouring the current handful of cookies. He had to hand it to Riku though, the boy did know how to take care of him. He wondered what would happen after school ended. Would he move away? Would Riku move? He didn't want that to happen. He secretly plotted ways to make his friend keep him around. He couldn't let go. Not after all these years.

Sora somehow started thinking about Roxas. He wished the boy the best, he really did. It was just kind of weird watching the blonde walk around looking like a lost puppy dog. It seemed like Axel liked the boy...he wasn't really sure. He might treat everyone like that though. Axel wasn't exactly the type of guy you could easily read. Sora shook his head. Why was he thinking about this? He's not the freaking love connection!

xXx

_"Who are you going to the dance with?"_ Sora looked down at his hands. "I dunno...I might not go..." _"Oh no, you're definitely going." _Riku crossed his arms. _"Come on Sora, we can easily be the hippest guys there. We'll go stag. How's that sound?" _Sora started laughing. "Okay." More laughter. "Just don't go around telling people that we are hip..." Riku simply replied with a half-grin.

Things have been kind of hectic lately. For the most part, Riku appeared to be happy. But there were moments when Sora would glance over to see a pitiful site. He never saw Riku look so sad. Each time Riku would revert back to his happy go lucky ways. It was nagging at Sora. What was up with that facade Riku insisted on using? Something was wrong with his friend, and he wanted to know what it was.

Tonight was different. Riku faced the wall as he laid in bed. Sora almost missed having those piercing eyes gazing in his direction as he tried to sleep.

That was it. Sora couldn't stand seeing Riku so sad. It was gnawing away at his soul. "What's wrong, Riku?" Riku sat up in his bed, and ran a hand through his silver locks. _"I'll tell you one day."_ "Aw...c'mon Riku. It can't be that bad." Riku sighed. _"You just don't know when to give up, do you? I'll tell you one day soon, kay?" _Sora reluctantly nodded his head before attempting to get some sleep.

_xXx_

In the morning, the two boys went to breakfast. The cafeteria was surprisingly crowded this morning. Most likely everyone was too excited about the dance. From what Riku heard, the school never really had a dance before, and that this was kind of like a trial run. Riku steered Sora around a couple of girls that were contemplating on whether or not him and Sora had dates yet. As always, Sora was oblivious to all the commotion.

He got his usual breakfast and sat down at a free table. Riku knew better than to even bother getting breakfast. Everything would either be rubbery or rock hard. He watched in amusement as the same girls he avoided moments ago, were turned down by Axel. He shook his head. There were always a few stragglers that had to do everything last minute.

He watched as the same girls moved on to their next target. This time it was Roxas. He knew Roxas didn't have a date yet, and was interested to see if he would in a minute. Roxas shook his head as the two girls walked away looking disappointed. He knew why Axel didn't have a date. They both knew very well who they wanted to be with. Roxas on the other hand, that was surprising. He was one of the more popular guys in school. He's heard the fan girls fawn over him countless times.

The usual scene unfolded before them. Axel and Roxas sat on one side of the table, while him and Sora occupied the other side. They would all watch in disgust as Sora somehow managed to eat that stuff the school kept calling food. Axel was the first to talk, as he was many times. He seemed to lighten up a lot since the first time they met. "So I guess four of the schools most eligible bachelors are going solo tonight?"

Now that Sora thought about it, it was kind of weird. None of them had dates. He didn't really feel like asking anyone. He figured Riku and Axel didn't want the girls to fight over them if they chose someone to go with. Roxas...well he wasn't sure of Axel's sexual preference. Sora supposed Axel could be gay. The boy didn't have any intimate relationships with anyone that Sora knew of.

Speaking of Roxas...the boy was currently tugging on Sora's sleeve. "Heh?" "Can I talk to you outside?" Sora gave Riku a look that simply said, 'well I can't not go.' "Yea, okay?" Roxas dragged him out of the cafeteria to a secluded spot on campus. Roxas' face had a slight pink tint to it. "He was wearing tight leather pants, Sora. Do you have any idea how hard it is not to stare at him like that?" Sora had to laugh at that. He actually found himself hoping that Axel liked Roxas back. "Maybe you should ask him to dance tonight?" Roxas' face darkened another shade. "If he is straight he will kill me." Sora scratched his head. "I haven't noticed that he was interested in any girls..." Everyone keeps telling me that I don't seem to be interested in any girls...I guess that's not really good advise then. To his dismay, it seemed to be what Roxas wanted to hear. The boy quickly said bye, and headed off to god knows where.

I hope I didn't just mess things up for him somehow. But still he guessed it was better to find out if someone had feelings for you or not. It had to be better then driving yourself crazy with all the what-ifs life had to throw at you.

xXx

The day went by entirely too fast for Sora. Dances really weren't his thing. And he knew he was going to be one of those wallflowers that everyone always made fun of.

Riku started going through Sora's closet. "_Any idea of what your going to wear?" _Sora scratched the back of his head. Riku flashed one of those award winning smiles. _"I thought as much." _Riku threw a pair of khakis over in Sora's direction. Soon to be followed by a white thin long sleeved dress shirt. _"That should look nice."_

Sora looked down at his clothes. "Erm...why was that shirt hanging up in my closet? I thought I had it in the clothes hamper..." Riku started going through his own closet now. "_Oh, while you were sleeping yesterday I did our laundry. You were sick and all, so I thought I'd give you a break."_ "Oh..." _"Relax. I'm more than capable of doing laundry. I promise I didn't turn your clothes pink or anything." _Sora looked down at the shirt. It did look pretty nice.

xXx

Sora had no idea how many girls he danced with that night. Every time he came close to sitting down, someone had to ask. He contemplated saying no, but then he just couldn't bring himself to do it. They all looked at him so expectantly. Riku had to dance with just as many girls, if not more. Each time someone asked him to dance, he would let out a small sigh before saying "all right, one dance..."

Sora watched his friend, as if he were some sort of fascinating television program. Riku wore a pair of khakis and a black long sleeved dress shirt. It had a nice contrast to Sora's own outfit. Sora had to admit, that shirt looked really good on Riku. Not that it had anything to do with the fact that Riku was wearing it. No it's a nice shirt that's all...it's not that he thinks Riku's body looks incredibly sexy under tha...whoa...no no NO. Sora couldn't help but stare at the silver haired beauty. "Sora?" He jumped slightly forgetting where he was. "You're drooling..." "Huh?" Sora wiped his mouth off. Sure enough a considerable amount of saliva had collected there. He hoped Roxas was the only one that noticed.

Roxas kept glancing back up at the clock. Sora looked at him questioningly. "Are you that bored?" Roxas shook his head. "I'm going to ask him." The DJ announced that this was the last dance. "Wish me luck." Sora nodded before he could even figure out what was going on.

Much to his shock, Roxas actually did ask Axel to dance. He thought he saw the red-head smirk before pulling Roxas in closer. It wasn't something he saw everyday. Two boys slow dancing. He didn't know how they could even move with how close they were standing. He quickly averted his gaze, not wanting them to know he was staring at them. A small crowd of people gathered around the two anyway, blocking his view.

Sora was glad he finally got to set back down though. He knew he was going to be tired in the morning. Riku sat down next to him. "_Having fun?" _"Meh." _"Tired?"_ Sora nodded his head. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulder. He soon found that him and Riku were the only two left in the gym. It just felt so good leaning into Riku's side like that. It almost made Sora wish he could have sat down a long time ago. He tried to brush away any stray thoughts of Riku being attractive. Or how he somehow didn't notice everyone leaving the gym.

He figured at the moment, it would be alright. He would give himself a stern lecture in the morning. He just hoped Riku hadn't noticed anything. By anything, he mainly meant his little drooling escapade that went on earlier that night. It was just too much excitement for the night. He found himself leaning into Riku on the way back to their room, not caring about how it would look to other people at the moment.

Riku ruffled Sora's hair a little bit before walking over to his own bed. He looked pretty tired too. The last thing Sora thought about before going to sleep was Axel and Roxas dancing together. A part of him wondered what that would feel like. Him and Riku.

xXx

Hmm...all I'm going to say about the next chapter is that it's titled _It's Okay to be Gay._


	11. It's Okay to be Gay

**Disclaimer: **Kingdom Hearts is something I don't own. (nods)

**Word Count: **2195 (not too shabby)

**A/N: **Well there you have it, yet another chapter. I've got to say I've been having fun with this story. Thanks for all the support you guys! I really appreciate it!

**It's Okay to be Gay**

When Monday finally rolled around, Sora was the first up. He checked all his shower supplies, making sure to grab a towel. He learned his lesson already. All he could think about after the dance was Riku. Not really just Riku, but what he thought about Riku. It made him nervous and excited at the same time. He finally found someone he liked.

The downside, it was a guy. He liked a guy when he had previously thought he was as straight as an arrow. Or any object that was straight really...it didn't have to be an arrow. He finally decided that he was just going to have to deal with the new things he learned about himself. No one else had to know. Well Roxas might know...

He cursed as he nearly put the body wash in his hair, instead of his shampoo. Okay...just gotta get myself together. How am I going to last the rest of the year without Riku finding out? Oh god, what if I say something in my sleep?

He heard the shower turn on next to him. Washing the rest of the body wash off, he tried not to think about what was going on in the other shower stall. He quickly got dressed, and headed back to the room. Once Riku showed up, they went down to breakfast before class. So far so good.

xXx

As Sora walked from one class to another, he thought about how he felt a little like a robot. He didn't really have to think about where he had to go anymore. His feet just kind of moved him from one destination to another, like some kind of program, and before he knew it he would be sitting in his usual desk.

Riku would be sitting behind him, like always. Sora wondered what was in all those notes that Riku and Axel were always passing back and forth. It seemed like there were more of them today in Government. He just let it slide by again. Riku probably just needs someone to talk to other than himself. Still...Axel did look rather smug about something...

xXx

Sora was glad they were in Study Hall. That meant the day was halfway over. Everything had been going great, until his thoughts drifted back to the guy behind him. How could he have a crush on his best friend? That was just...wrong.

Riku stretched his legs out from under the desk. One of his shoes was touching the side of Sora's leg. Sora decided to ignore it for the moment, and finish copying down his notes.

He tried to ignore it anyway. There was a voice that kept nagging him at the back of his head. 'You're enjoying this aren't you? Having his shoe touch your leg.' 'What? No of course not, it's Riku. He is just my friend.' 'But you want more don't you? You're gay Sora, don't fight it. I wouldn't tell Riku though...He would probably never talk to you again.' 'No, I'm not gay. I like girls. Of course I do.' 'Oh really? Name one girl you would like to be with.' 'Erm...' 'Exactly.' 'So I'm gay okay! I give up, I'm not fighting it anymore!' His little self argument ended leaving a blank look on Sora's face.

"_Sora?" _He looked up to see Riku standing by his desk. "_Class is over..."_ "Erm...yea, okay." _"You seem more distracted than usual..." _"Heh." Great now he is going to be worried about me. And more observant that normal.

Sora looked down the hallway to see an interesting site. Axel and Roxas were looking rather friendly. Sora felt a blush develop on his face. He hated that about himself. Why couldn't he control himself better? Riku laughed. "_You better get used to it Sora. Those two, I think are going to last."_

Sora continued walking, not wanting to be late to class. He still had his record to look after. He still hadn't missed a class that year. "Riku?" "_Yea?" _"I'm glad we came here." Riku nodded before entering the classroom, seemingly forgetting about Sora's spacey behavior of the day.

xXx

After class ended, Roxas managed to catch Sora in the hallway. This time he was completely Axel-less. "Long time no see." Roxas was grinning like a jaybird. "Yea, well I got lucky and found a time consumer." Sora laughed hesitantly. Trying not to think of what exactly they did to consume that time. "So what brings you down here?" Roxas crossed his arms before preceding. "Since you helped me so much, I wanted to return the favor." Sora scratched his head, trying to remember exactly how he had helped the boy. Yup, he was drawing a blank.

"I think he feels the same way." "Huh? Who? What?" Roxas laughed. "And people say I'm slow." "Heh?" "Have you ever noticed the way he looks at you? There's got to be something there." "Riku?" Sora asked as if it must have been a joke. Or something he misheard. "I never said anything cause I thought it might freak you out. But after seeing the way you were drooling at the dance..." Quick think of something! Change the subject. 3...2...1..."Please don't tell anyone." Kaboom! Nice one, now you have admitted to erm...Curiosity was clearly written all over Roxas' face. "Okaaaay. Maybe you should talk to him about it though...Just something to think about."

Talk to him about it! That's the craziest idea Sora ever heard. Riku would never want anything to do with him again. "Come on Sora. It is kind of obvious. You like him, and he likes you. Your just both too ignorant to bring it out in the open." Ignorant? Psh. "Remember the first time the four of us were together?" Roxas began to laugh. "Riku would have passed through you, if he pressed his body any closer to yours."

Sora's face began to turn red. He really wished he could control that somehow. "And you practically melted into it." Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was this the same shy Roxas he met earlier that year? What did Axel do to him? Roxas grinned and walked away. They had reached the door to Sora's room.

Sora never really thought about all those times Riku put an arm around his shoulder or ran his hand through his hair. Now he seemed conscious of everything Riku did. He felt a sinking feeling in his heart, as he remembered that Riku once had a girlfriend. How could things get so messed up? He walked in the room trying not to look too down. Riku had promised to help him study for another English test.

_xXx_

_"Okay. So for a hundred dollars, can you give an example of an anagram?"_ Sora fiddled with his fingers as he tried to come up with an answer. _"The clock is ticking..." _"Erm...astronomers is an anagram of 'no more stars.'" Riku thought about it a minute before nodding his head. "_Was that one in the text book?" _Sora shook his head. "Dictionary."

_"Now for the question it all comes down to. What is a palindrome?" _Sora let his head fall to the desk. "I have no idea..." "_Come on Sora, it's the only question you got wrong."_ "I guess I'll just have to get the others right on the test..." _"Wrong."_

_"A palindrome is text that reads the same forward as backwards." _"Eh..." "_An example would be the name Anna." _Sora lifted his head up. "Wouldn't that be an anagram too?" Riku shook his head. "_What kind of word could you make with those letters? Anagrams make other words, remember?" _"Oh yea..."

"_Okay, I have an idea..." _Sora watched curiously as Riku went through his CD collection. He stopped on a CD that had a picture of a man with a poodle on his head. Sora read to himself '"_Weird Al" Yankovic Poodle Hat..._' "How is that going to help me?" Riku smiled. _"Just trust me."_

He skipped ahead to a song that was called 'Bob.' Sora looked up quizzically at his friend. The _song_ sounded like gibberish to him. "I dunno..." _"Just listen to it." _Sora kept to his initial way of thinking. It really must be gibberish. He thought he heard the line _may a moody baby doom a yam? _When the song ended, Riku looked quite pleased with himself. Although Sora wasn't sure why...It didn't seem to help him in the least bit.

"Sounded like a bunch of random stuff to me." Riku just laughed. _"The whole thing was made of palindromes. Come here I'll show you." _He took the paper out of the CD cover, and turned through the thing. "_We will start with an easy one." _He pointed to the line that said _Warsaw was raw._ Upon further inspection, Sora discovered that there was some logic to the song after all. "Oh!" Riku smirked. _"Now he gets it."_ "Shut up!" "_Only trying to help you..."_ "Where do you get weird music like that anyway?" _"Weird Al? I dunno...I think wal-mart. Why do you like him?" _Sora shrugged. "I don't know if I could go by one song."

_"If you like his music, you would really love his music videos." _"Really?" _"Of course. When we get back to the island we can watch them sometime."_ Sora continued to look through the lyrics of the music. The guy must have been insane to write that stuff. But then again...if he went by the name 'Weird Al' that's got to be saying something. _"What do you think about Roxas and Axel being together?" _"Why?" Sora turned around hoping Riku didn't see the blush that was forming. How did Riku always know exactly what the wrong subject to bring up was? It was like he lived to torture him or something.

"_No reason really. It's just that you were kind of blushing a little earlier. A little like you are doing right now." _My god, did the guy have to see through everything? "Oh...erm...I think they are great together." _"So you don't have a problem with them being gay?" _"Not reeeeeally." Riku walked around in front of Sora. He wanted the boy to look at him.

xXx

_"And what do you think about me?" _Sora's face turned bright red. Bingo. That was the reaction he was waiting for. _"You know, an answer would be nice."_ Yes, soon Sora would be feeling guilty about not answering him. He just hoped he picked the right time to do this. "Y-your my best friend." Riku made sure to look the boy square in the eyes. _"Yes..." _"I love to be around you...err...you're fun to hang out with." He is evil! Evil! "And and I think you are really attractive..."

Sora couldn't believe what he was saying. He was willingly admitting that he had a thing for Riku. Riku, the guy he grew up with. They never left each others sides...it was so..._unreal._ Riku flashed a genuine smile. "_For a while, I worried that you wouldn't be gay."_ There was that word again. Gay? Yes, yes he could live with that.

Riku smiled before pushing Sora down on his bed. Sora continued to stay in a state of shock. He then climbed into Sora's lap, allowing his legs to straddle the boys waist. "_It's okay to be gay."_ Sora's eyes widened as he took in the situation. "I-I uhhh..." Riku placed a finger over the shaking forms lips. _"Don't be afraid." _He kissed Sora lightly on the corner of his mouth. _"Embrace it."_ Sora's body went limp, allowing Riku to do his bidding.

Riku slowly slid his tongue across Sora's jaw line, causing the boy to squirm underneath him. "R-riku!" Riku moved up closer. Dangerously close to Sora's lips. _"Mmm?" _Sora continued to stare at his friend with wide eyes. He resembled a tree frog a little. _"Do you want me to stop?"_ Sora shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was doing. Or what he was letting Riku do. Riku's grin broadened.

He took a moment to trace Sora's lips with his index finger. The thought of getting to know his friend in a different way was intoxicating. _"So at the dance..." _Riku was going to play this for all he could get. Sora on the other hand was already breathing heavily. A million thoughts of escaping going through his mind. _"Were you drooling because of me?"_ Sora tried to turn his head away, but found it hard. Riku's hand was holding the back of his head, preventing any movement. Sora mumbled, _"_you weren't supposed to see that." My god, did the whole school see that?

Sora watched as Riku's features suddenly took on an evil tone. He swore he could almost see a sparkle in the boy's eyes. _"I think I'll save our first kiss for a special occasion." _Riku climbed off of Sora, and walked over to his closet. Sora felt himself relax a little as the pressure left his body. "What are you up to?" "_You'll find out tomorrow." _Riku wore a rather mischievous grin. Sora didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

xXx

Heh, so Sora was kinda talking to himself in his head this go 'round. He's not crazy, I swear. I think everyone has their moments where they argue with themselves like that. I think there will be _at least _four more chapters after this one. The next chapter is going to be about Sora's point of view on everything, since **a lot **has happened.


	12. Tell it to the World

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything Kingdom Hearts related.

**A/N:** Okay so I know I said I was going to do this chapter as Sora's POV...I did try it, but it was horrible. So I give you this instead. Sorry about the long wait you guys. And of course, thanks for the lovely reviews. They mean the world to me, they really do.

**Tell it to the World**

Sora swatted at his ear, as he felt his hair shift its position. _"Mornin' baby_." Riku was blowing seductively into his ear. Seductively? When did he start thinking like that? Sora sat up, to get away from Riku's childish behavior. "_Today's the big day. Better get ready." _"Big day?" _"Mmhmm." _It was obvious he wasn't going to get a decent reply from Riku, so he trudged on through his daily schedule.

He wandered down the hall to the bathroom, still tired from his uneasy sleep. He silently wished that Riku wasn't so chipper this early in the morning. Of course he would be better off than Sora. He got considerably more sleep. Yesterday's events seemingly not having any effect on him.

xXx

As Sora stood in the shower, he couldn't believe the turn of events. What was worse, was he couldn't quite figure out when he had started liking Riku. He knew it was before they transferred to this school. Or at least that seemed logical...It had to have been. These things don't just pop up out of the blue. What if this was the wrong thing to do?

Even worse, what if Riku was just playing with him? Should he just act like nothing happened, or ask Riku what that was all about yesterday? _"Need any help in there?" _"What? N-no, of course not." He could hear Riku laugh as the water to another showerhead turned on. He continued to wash off, speeding his pace up a little bit. It was always easy to lose track of time in the shower. Nothing felt better than having that warm water cascading down his body. Sure enough, he soon heard more shower curtains opening, as the sound of water became louder. This was a sure sign that he had taken longer than usual.

xXx

When he stepped out of the shower, he discovered Riku waiting for him. He had his arms crossed with a huge grin on his face. "_You didn't think you could shake me off by taking longer in the shower did you?"_ "Whah?" Riku's grin if possible seemed to broaden as he started dragging Sora back to the room. "Maybe we should just skip breakfast this morning..." _"Nuh-uh. I wanna show my new boyfriend off to everybody." _"B-boyfriend?" _"Of course."_

Sora felt an arm wrap around his waist as they approached the door. "Do you really think of me like that?" _"Mmhmm..."_ Sora fumbled through his pockets searching for his key. He knew he picked it up before heading out. "_I'd check the back pocket." _"I never put it...HEY!" Riku laughed as he pulled his hand out of Sora's back pocket, holding the lost key. He raised an eyebrow as Sora continued to stare at him with wide eyes.

_"Scared of change?"_ Sora shook his head, still making no progress in opening the door. _"It's okay if you are a little scared."_ "Let's just get our stuff." _"No problem."_ Riku turned the key in the lock, finally opening the door. It was amazing that they haven't attracted spectators with their slow progress. If the day went on like this, Sora just may be late to class for once.

xXx

By the time they got their bags and headed out, there was no time for breakfast. It looked like Sora got his way after all. No matter, there were still tons of people out in the hallway that could goggle all they liked. This was his day, and he was going to let everyone know it. Riku laced his fingers through Sora's, making sure to get a good grip. He could feel Sora try to pull away discreetly.

There were a few odd looks on the way to class. A few people even were as bold as to point at them. Sora had that adorable blush on his face, that Riku had become so accustomed to. He smiled as Sora finally gave up on getting his hand back. _"Don't worry so much. At least your parents won't know about this for a good amount of time." _

Riku smiled inwardly as Sora must have finally realized that the truth would have to come out once they got home. True he would have his own share of explaining to do, once they got back. Egh...Kairi is not going to like this. I don't really care what she thinks, but I know Sora will. I'm thinking too far ahead. I just need to get through today first. I think he is opening up to me...

Riku continued to lead the way, marveling at the wonder that was holding his hand. Yes, he knew he was a lucky guy. He let Sora's hand go once they reached the classroom. Sora continued to walk at his extraordinarily slow pace, concentrating on the tiled floor. Avoiding the glances of their classmates. Riku was sure that at least a few of them had seen him and Sora holding hands.

xXx

For once, Riku actually wished they had Government. He would be needing to talk to Axel soon. He couldn't talk about this stuff with just anyone. Still he could enjoy the day. Well, enjoy the time in between classes anyway. He had a feeling he would have to take extra good notes for Sora today. At least they didn't have an art project to work on. Sora wouldn't be able to draw anything, with his mind up in the clouds.

He knew he was right when he watched Sora pack his stuff away. The visible notebook page had next to nothing written on it. Normally he didn't like to let people copy his notes, but he wouldn't let Sora fail just because of him. Sora looked back shyly as he straightened the straps of his bag. He would have laughed if he didn't think it would make the boy more nervous.

They've known each other their whole lives, and now Sora was acting all shy on him. It was cute. Not that he would want the world to know that he thought of so many things as being 'cute.' He had a reputation to look after. When it came to Sora, 'cute' was all that would pop up in his mind. Sora just had no idea how enticing he was.

xXx

Riku held his hand out, inviting Sora's warm grasp. To his surprise the boy's hand slipped inside his own. When they were the last people to reach the door, Riku whispered _"I love you." _Sora squeezed his hand slightly. That was all he needed for the moment. He didn't really expect a reply so soon. Those three little words weren't exactly something you threw around carelessly. Sora could take all the time he needed.

English went well in Riku's opinion. It seemed Sora had once again got a grip on reality. His notes looked much better this time. Though he would still check up on them once they were free for the day. There was no telling how Sora's mind worked, especially in times like these. He was particularly proud of his own astuteness today. It's too early to be thinking like that. The day isn't even halfway over.

Thank god for Study Hall. It was the one class you could do anything in. Better yet, there was never any homework. "You're so quiet today." Riku looked up at the desk in front of him. _"Do you miss me talking?"_ "Yea, I kind of do." He turned back to his books, trying to decide what to work on first. That wasn't exactly the response Riku was expecting. He had really meant the question to be a sarcastic comment, but Sora's response seemed pretty serious. _"I guess I'll just have to make up for it later then." _

He dug in his own book bag, searching for the right notebook. _"Here, you can copy my art notes."_ "Thanks, Riku." Riku took out his English assignment before slumping back down in his desk. He had nothing else to do, so he might as well lighten the homework load.

xXx

"I'm hungry." Riku couldn't help but to look back at Sora with a warm smile. "_Of course you're hungry. You didn't eat breakfast. Remember?"_ "Heehe...yea..." _"Let's get in line. It looks like they have calzone. Does that sound good to you?" _"Anything sounds good to me. How come you're not that hungry?" _"Because you are the only one that eats breakfast. I'm used to waiting a little longer for food. I'm glad you are acting normal again though."_

Sora grabbed a tray, piling on whatever looked good. "Well it is kind of different. I mean it's the same, but not..." _"Don't worry. Things won't change too much."_ Sora nodded. "Yea, that's good." They made their way over to a table Axel and Roxas were currently occupying. _"Great day isn't it?"_ Roxas looked up from his plate of food. "Why is that?" _"Becaaaause, I finally got hooked up with Sora."_ "I knew something was up! That's great, isn't it Axel?" "Mhmm..." Axel continued to shovel food in his mouth, disregarding the conversation that he was supposed to be in. Roxas gave Sora a thumbs up, before following Axel's example.

xXx

Riku knew that a good deal of the school had already given up on Roxas and Axel. There was no doubting how gay they were for each other. Him and Sora on the other hand...the fan girls still had their hopes up for them. If he knew anything about this school, those odds would be evened as soon as he carried out his plan.

As they were eating lunch in the crowded cafeteria, Riku rolled his eyes as he spotted a couple girls with an agenda. It was bad enough that they were always poking and prodding at him and Sora, but he drew the line when the squealing began. Geesh they are going to kill someone like that one day. With an evil grin he decided that now was the perfect opportunity.

He leaned over to whisper something to Axel. The red-head then made arrangements for that same grin to occupy his face. His food suddenly seemed a lot less interesting. Roxas kept looking from Riku to Axel, and back again. Sora on the other hand was happily drinking his water, tuned into whatever kind of lala land the boy liked so much. He heard Riku say, "show time." The next thing he knew, he was being pulled into Riku's tight grasp. Some water he didn't manage to swallow found its way to his shirt.

xXx

Riku pulled him in closer and quickly crushed their lips together, while Sora's arms waved around a little in the air. It only lasted a few seconds. Just long enough for people to notice. Riku was sure it must have looked comical. The way he saw it, he was doing Sora a favor. Now everybody would know about them. It would have happened eventually anyway. Things like this spread like wildfire. Even better, the fan club should die down for a little while at least.

Sora closed his eyes tight while leaning his head against Riku's chest. He tried to imagine everyone gone. He knew he was never going to live this down. The year was supposed to be memorable and all...but...He could hear Riku's laughter over everyone else's initial shock. He felt Riku's chest vibrate slightly within his grasp. _"Wait until I give you a 'real' kiss."_ Sora kept hold of Riku's shirt, wondering what exactly Riku meant by a real kiss.

Sora mumbled into Riku's shirt, "I thought you said you were going to save our first kiss for a special occasion." _"Seemed special to me. Come on, let's dump our trays."_ "Okaaaay." _"Not that I really mind, but...you're going to kind of have to let go of me."_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naminé walk by with tears swelling up in her eyes. He shook his head, not really caring how anyone reacted. All that mattered was if Sora was okay with everything. Sora's going to have to learn that he can't make everyone happy anyway. Besides, Riku was more than willing to make up for all that.

xXx

The 'incident' from lunch was all people talked about for the rest of the day. Riku could sense that the teachers were angry about the lack of attention to their lectures. It's not like it's the end of the world for them though. They plan around this kind of stuff don't they? Well maybe not specifically what was going on today, but still. They were bound to expect a few days where no one would cooperate.

Getting through classes was an interesting task. People kept looking back at them at random moments. There were a lot of stifled giggles, and comments he couldn't quite make out. One girl continued to 'check her make up' several times with a mirror during class. He would have screamed, if he didn't think that some of the attention would die down in a few days. No need to add to the list of things they would talk about. True he wanted people to know about him and Sora...But it wasn't really so they could goggle at them like fish. Quite the opposite in fact.

The bell finally rang, signaling freedom until the next day. Most of the people had gone back to their little lives. Most being the operative word here. Riku was about to tell some people off for staring when he caught a splotch of red.

"They are gay. G-A-Y. Got it memorized?" Roxas looked up at Axel, arms still around the red-head's waist. "You know that can really get annoying." "Would you rather I used some stupid cliché?" "No, just maybe not 'got it memorized' all the time..." Axel scratched his head before slowly drawling out the words, "'Commit it to memory.' Nope, doesn't really have the same ring to it." Roxas rolled his eyes.

Axel's presence seemed to be enough to clear the hallway. Or at least the area they were in. Axel crossed his arms. "I'm so glad you're not one of them, Sora." "One of 'them'?" Roxas scrunched up his nose. "Don't worry about it. Come on, we can hang in my room for a while. Maybe Axel will come up with a new catch phrase." Sora rolled his eyes this time. "Not likely."

xXx

Well there you have it. Another chapter. Again, sorry for the long wait. Hopefully the next chapter will be better.

Much Love


	13. Don’t Question Reality

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own any Kingdom Hearts stuff, darn.

**A/N: **I think I managed to update a little quicker this time. I can't believe how long this story is so far. Thanks for all the support you guys!

Much Love

**Don't Question Reality**

"_So where are we headed?" _"Outside. I want to avoid my room for a little while. Cloud doesn't seem too happy at the moment." Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets, choosing not to comment on Axel's lifestyle. He was sure he didn't want anything to do with whatever it was that went on between Axel and Cloud. _"I never really thought things would work out the way they did. I kind of hoped they would, but never thought it would happen."_ "Yea, life's weird that way." "_After all this time he finally notices me."_

"Seems a bit edgy to me. He's not one for the spotlight is he?" Riku had to laugh at this. "_No, I don't think he would go out in public at all if I didn't drag him around all the time." _Riku found a spot on the ground, and proceeded to lay down. Luckily the clouds blocked the sun out of his eyes. He had somehow managed to leave his favorite pair of sunglasses at his house. They were probably setting on his nightstand gathering dust.

_"Back on the island we would hang out. Just me and him. He never really cared for the large crowds. I guess I wasn't too fond of them myself. We would always hang out on the far edge of the beach where no one bothered to visit." _Riku squinted his eyes as the sun tried to shine through the clouds. _"It was nice that way. Only sometimes some of the others would come down to see us. It's not that I don't like them, but they always distracted Sora. I know this is probably going to sound stupid, but I've kind of always wanted to have Sora's attention all to myself."_

xXx

Silence. _"Axel?"_ No response. Riku looked over to find Axel laying on the grass with his eyes closed. His arms were behind his head, effectively ruling out the need for a pillow. Riku couldn't believe it. He was finally talking about the stuff that was in his mind and Axel had fallen asleep.

He felt a mixture of irritation and relief. He was a little irritated at the fact that he was trying to talk about something serious, and Axel had fallen asleep. The relief came from Axel not hearing what he was talking about. The fact that he said all those things seemed to help a great deal too. He couldn't very well tell Sora that he didn't want him to talk to anyone except him. That sounded a little possessive even to Riku.

In the end, Riku figured it didn't really matter if what he said was heard. Just saying it seemed to be enough for the moment. They always say not to let stuff bottle up. Little insignificant things can build up over time, leaving a mess of things for your mind to sort through. Often misinterpreting things along the way.

xXx

Riku halfway wondered what kind of life Axel lived. Where did he live when he wasn't at school? Did he hang out with his friends over the summer and go to movies like everyone else? He didn't really strike Riku as the sociable type when they first met. He was almost positive that Roxas must have been a major changing point in his life. How much change Axel went through or was willing to go through was a mystery.

Riku closed his eyes imagining the island. He could almost feel the warm tropical breeze on his face. He could see Sora setting next to him on the sand, drawing little stick figures in the sand. Sora brushed over the sand with an idle hand, wiping out the stick figures. He then proceeded to draw an arrow. Riku didn't understand it at first. Then he looked up in the direction the arrow was pointing to. It was the little piece of land off from the beach a little bit. Swaying in the wind the leaves of the paupu fruit were visible. Barely visible was a strange yellow fruit. Riku smiled as Sora sat there staring at him with a big grin on his face. _"The paupu fruit."_

xXx

"Didn't quite catch that." _"Huh?"_ "You said something about some kinda fruit. It had a weird name...like pampay, prayprah, boubrew or something. What was it?" Riku realized he must have been talking in his sleep. If Axel was asking about fruit, he couldn't have said anything bad._ "Ah...the paupu fruit."_ "Yea, that sounds like it. What kind of fruit is this exactly? I don't think I've ever heard of it before."

"_That's not surprising. As far as I know it only grows on the island I come from. It's just a fruit shaped like a star, nothing special."_ "Does it taste any good?"Riku started plucking up a few pieces of grass. _"I dunno. Never actually tried it."_ Axel scratched his head. "Oh...well I thought maybe it would be good since you were talking about it in your sleep." Riku continued to shred the grass that was in his hands. "You just looked sort of...happy. Why have you never tried it before?"

_"There is this legend on the island about the fruit. It says that when two people share one, their destinies will be intertwined. They will be a part of each others lives no matter what."_ Axel started laughing. "Sounds like some kind of magical fairytale fruit to me. Do you actually believe it?" Riku shrugged his shoulders. _"I gave one to Sora one time. I don't think he understood."_ "Maybe you can try it out when you go back home then?" _"Yea..."_

xXx

"He would probably share one with you after this year. So how was that kiss anyway?" Riku smirked. "_Short." _"It's probably good to start out slow though." _"Unlike you and Roxas?" _"Hey, he made the first move. I just went with it." _"He's not the shy school boy I met when I first came here."_ Axel smirked. "Works good for me." _"I'll bet. Hey do you wanna walk to the ice-cream stand?"_

xXx

Sora followed Roxas to his room. When they entered he noticed it had kind of an empty feel to it. It looked like half the stuff was gone. He looked over at his roommates bed to discover that it no longer had covers on it. This was odd...he had never seen Roxas' roommate before, but his stuff had always been there. Roxas seemed to notice Sora's train of thought.

"They sent him home. This wasn't really the best place for him, I guess." "Oh...I guess it can be hard living away from home..." "Hey you should spend the night over here sometime, just the two of us. I'm sure there's a lot of stuff I'm missing out on. Liiiiiike you and Riku for instance. When did you two get so close?"

Sora had to refrain from hitting himself in the head, he should have saw this coming. "I don't know..." Roxas crossed his arms waiting for a better reply. "Come on you can tell me. We've been able to talk about this stuff from the beginning." "Okaaay. Yesterday...Riku kind of figured out that I liked him somehow." Roxas sat down on the edge of his bed, waiting for Sora to go on.

xXx

"He asked me what I thought about you and Axel being together...if it bothered me that you guys were gay. I told him no...Well I don't really know what happened really. It must have been the dance...I don't know how he saw..." Roxas was now grinning from ear to ear. "He saw you drooling over his body, and you didn't deny it." "I couldn't lie..." "Because you wanted him to know!" "You've changed." Roxas started laughing. "So have you."

Sora leaned back in the chair. He had changed. Maybe it had something to do with going to a new school...or maybe he really wanted things to change. It didn't really matter, things seemed to be going well enough. He hasn't dropped out of school yet or anything. His parents really would kill him if he did something stupid like that.

"You know, I guess I've always liked Riku in way. I mean I've always kind of admired him. He just always seems better at everything than me." "He can't be better at everything. He probably avoids doing things he's not very good at." "Yea, maybe. And he always seems so cool and confident about everything..." Roxas jumped down off his bed. "Look I'm sure he has his own insecurities. He did take a really long time to ask you out. Maybe he was afraid he wasn't good enough for you."

xXx

Sora smiled. "How did we get ourselves in this mess anyway?" "I dunno, we're just lucky I guess." Sora put his arms behind his head, leaning back in the chair. "I like his hair." "What?" "I like Riku's hair. It always looks so perfect, and he hardly runs a comb through it." Sora closed his eyes for a moment, imagining just how Riku's hair looked. He couldn't quite figure it out. "It changes colors. Sometimes it looks silver. I think it's blue sometimes too..."

Roxas nodded his head. "Yea, his hair is a bit unusual. I can't imagine what he puts his hair color down as." "What do you like about Axel?" Roxas bit down on his lower lip for a moment. "Abs." Sora sat up so the chair wouldn't fall over. "His abs? Really?" "Yea...you should see what is under his shirt...I think he must work out."

Sora started laughing. "What's so funny?" "Nothing. It's just that I never thought I would ever be having this conversation with anyone. Especially about Riku's hair, and Axel's abs." Roxas joined in on the laughter. "Yea, but it feels good doesn't it? Having someone to like you back." "Yea...I can't believe I got my first kiss today."

"You've never been kissed?" "Nope. When was your first kiss?" Roxas scratched his head, trying to think back that far. "I'm not sure, I think it was in the fifth grade. Some girl came up to me giggling. She said to meet her under the bridge of the playground." "And she kissed you?" "Yea...it all seems kind of silly now."

xXx

"You know, it's kind of weird that you and Riku have all the same classes." Sora shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, he's the one that signed up for everything." "He would have had to of planned it out a year in advance. No one gets every class they sign up for..." "He just asked me this summer...You don't think he had this planned all along do you?" "Seems like a massive plan to get closer to you, if you ask me."

Sora turned his head as he heard knocking on the door. Roxas walked across the room before opening the door. He didn't even bother checking to see who it was. Riku and Axel stood on the other side of the door, holding two popsicles each. _"Thought we would try something a little different today."_

Roxas' eyes lit up as he examined the wrapper of the ice cream Axel just put in his hand. "This is sea-salt ice cream." Sora took his, not sure if he wanted to try anything that had salt in it's name. Riku shrugged as he took the wrapper off his own ice cream. _"They didn't really have any normal flavors. Axel said this one was good..."_

xXx

"Are you kidding? It's only the best ice cream ever!" Everyone stared at an overenthusiastic Roxas, before sampling the product themselves. Sora smiled as he continued to eat the ice cream. It wasn't like anything he ever had before. It was salty, but sweet at the same time. "This is good." Roxas nodded his head as he continued to lick his stick.

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku for a short hug, after throwing the wrapper and stick away. "Thanks Riku." Riku let out a slight chuckle. "_Maybe I should buy you ice cream more often. You seem to treat me like royalty when I do."_ "I love ice cream." Axel shifted his weight a little on his other foot. "Does he never get ice cream or something?" Riku shook his head. _"I don't let him get it too much. Especially when I'm living in the same room with him. He'll be up till dawn now."_ Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku. "I can't even stay up that late." Riku crossed his arms and made a sound that sounded slightly like, "pfht."

xXx

Sora looked down at his watch. "It's already dinner time?" _"Guess so. Still hungry?"_ "Yea...but I haven't even started my homework yet. I usually have half of it done already..." "_Relax, we will get it done. They didn't really assign much today anyway. We'll get it done in an hour, two hours tops."_ Roxas nodded. "It's no big deal. Axel always puts his work off till the last minute, and he always gets done."

"Yea I guess so..." _"It will work out. Have I ever steered you wrong?" _"Do you really want me to answer that?" _"Your call."_ "Hmph." Sora grabbed Riku's hand like it was second nature before walking towards the door. _"You know you don't have to hold my hand all the time if you don't want to."_ "I know. I want to. It just feels right somehow." _"Did you hit your head by any chance?" _Sora proceeded to scratch his head with his other hand. _"Come on, I'll race you." _Riku pulled his hand free with ease, before getting a head start.

"No way! That's not fair!" _"Life's not fair. Better hurry up if you wanna beat me!"_ Sora took off running down the hallway, hoping that no one would be monitoring the hallways at the time. Axel just looked over at Roxas with a questioning look. "You know, sometimes I don't get those two." Roxas locked his door before walking down the hallway himself. "Maybe they were deprived as children..." "They are interesting, I'll give them that."

xXx

That was how Riku found himself eating dinner with Sora once again. It was just like any other time, but this time it seemed meaningful somehow. Sora hadn't tried to avoid him any, despite all the torment he had put the boy through.

It had been an unusual day, Riku had to admit that. He wasn't particularly sure what was real anymore. Earlier he had fallen asleep, but everything seemed to be muddled together in one big mess. Which parts were real? What was a dream? It was so confusing.

In all the time that he and Sora were together, he was afraid that he would wake up to find that it had all been a dream. He halfway wondered if it would be wrong to ask Sora to write his feelings down on paper. Just to have something solid, something that proved this was real.


	14. Trying Something Different

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything Kingdom Hearts related.

**A/N:** Sorry about taking forever to update this thing. I had a chapter typed out, but I really hated it and decided to start over...heh.

**Trying Something Different**

_"Have you ever turned anything in late?"_ "No. Why would I?" _"I dunno. You just seem kind of paranoid about messing up in school."_ "I am not! I just want to do well, that's all." _"Sora...You've been brainwashed."_ Sora rolled his eyes before leaving to drop off his tray.

Riku was quick to follow pursuit. _"Brainwashed."_ "Just because I care about my reputation doesn't mean I'm brainwashed." _"Mmmhmm..."_ "Grow up." _"Make me."_ "You suck." "_Erm...no, I don't."_ "We still have homework." _"Not that much."_ "We still shouldn't put it off." _"I think we should for once."_ "Whatever. I'm going back to the room." _"Okay, see you later then."_ "You're not coming?" _"Nope."_

"Riiiiiku." _"You can hang out with me if you wanna."_ "But..." _"Of course I'm not forcing you." _Sora looked down at his watch, really not liking the situation. "Fine." Riku smirked. _"I'll convert you yet."_ "Don't count on it." _"Come on, let's set at the picnic table."_

xXx

"Now what are we doing?" _"Nothing."_ "You're weird, you know that?" _"Yup. But you love me anyway."_ "Don't we have a paper to write?" _"Not right now we don't. There's still some time till curfew. Not that Demyx ever checks up on us anyway." _Sora fought a smile that was creeping up on his face. "You don't like Demyx do you?" _"No."_ "Why not?" _"You honestly don't know?" "_Know what?" _"The way he looks at you...and me. It just screams sexual predator."_

"That doesn't mean anything. Maybe he is just looking out for us. It is his job after all." _"Not likely. Ya know he is gay." _"How would you know?" "_Have you paid attention to the way he dresses?"_ "So he is a little more feminine than most guys, that still doesn't mean anything." _"Okay."_ "You don't believe me, do you?" _"We'll see."_ "He's not gay." _"You wanna bet?" _"Okay." _"Five dollars to whoever is right. Sound fair?" _"You're on."

Sora began laughing, causing Riku to give him a funny look. _"What's so funny?" _"Nothing. It's just I never thought we would ever have a conversation about whether or not someone was gay." Riku let out a light chuckle before he decided he would rather set on the top of the table. _"Yea. There's a lot of stuff I never expected to happen." _"Yea, but you think it will all turn out alright?" _"Hopefully."_ "Yea..."

xXx

_"I'm proud of you, Sora." _Sora craned his neck to see Riku setting above him. "Why?" _"Because it's five minutes till curfew, and you haven't even noticed."_ "It's what?" _"Make that four minutes now."_ "Um...okay...err..." Riku smiled slightly. _"Come on. We can still make it." _

Riku started out in a sprint towards the dorm. As long as Sora didn't trip, they would be able to make it on time. Sora ran as fast as he could, hating Riku's slight height advantage when it came to running. They made it inside the building with a few minutes left. The steps were going to be a pain to run up. _"How you doing back there?" _"Hmph." He barely heard Riku's laughter as they turned the corner. They were on the right floor...now they just needed to get to the room without being noticed. Sora nearly slid into Demyx when they reached the door.

Of all the people to run into it had to be him. What if he actually decided to do his job today? Sora started panting with his hands on his knees, while Riku stood there calmly with his arms crossed. "Running a little late tonight, aren't we boys?" Riku shrugged his shoulders, and Sora decided that he shouldn't attempt to talk just yet. Demyx looked down at his own watch, studying it carefully. "Close enough. Just don't complain to me if you didn't finish your homework."

xXx

Demyx continued to walk down the hallway, allowing Sora and Riku to find their sanctuary. "That..." Heavy breathing. "...was close." More heavy breathing. Riku wrapped an arm around Sora's shoulder. _"I doubt he would turn us in, even if we were late."_ "Because you think he is gay?" _"No. Because he is too lazy to turn the paper work in." _"Oh..." _"But he is gay."_ "Ugh."

_"Now let's see about that homework." _Sora stacked his books up on his desk, trying to find the ones that he needed for the night. He quickly set to work, not even paying attention to whether or not Riku had his homework out.

Sora was about ready to hit his head on his desk a few times once he saw that it was already midnight. Riku was wrong. _Majorly _wrong. The few assignments they actually had, were taking up a lot of time.

xXx

_"How much do you have left?"_ "Essay." _"That's not too bad then."_ "What do you have left?" _"Nothing."_ Sora's head finally dropped down to his desk. He could hear the paper crumple underneath his head._ "Hey it's not too bad. I'll help you write it. The longest it can take is an hour." _"I can't think straight Riku. I'm usually asleep by now." _"Just look at it as a challenge. You might even win a prize."_ "There's no prize. You're just trying to make me feel better." _"There could be a prize, but you'll never know if you don't finish."_

"Fine. What did the gnome tell the witch?" Riku had to cover his mouth up to hide his laughter. _"You weren't kidding. You really can't function well when you don't get your sleep."_ "Ya think?" _"Okay...well first of all, there are no gnomes. You should be thinking of nomads, if you read the same chapter I did." _"Eh...I guess that makes more sense..." Riku stood behind Sora's chair, resting his head on the boy's shoulder for a moment. _"And the witch was an apothecary."_

"Eh...I can't do this..." _"Here, I'll look over what you have so far."_ Sora handed over the paper over his shoulder. He turned around when he didn't notice Riku leaving. _"I'm going to need a pen or something." _"Okay." Sora handed over the pen that he was writing with. Riku got situated on his bed, so he was on his stomach with Sora's notebook in front of him.

xXx

He tried not to laugh at Sora's various mistakes. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea. Sora really wasn't kidding about not being able to think straight. He marked through a few more mistakes, taking the time to write in the correct words. _"Looks like all you need is a conclusion now."_ "Oh, okay. Can I see the paper again?" Riku handed the paper over, hoping Sora wouldn't look at the clock again. He was nearly finished, he just needed to concentrate on it for a little longer.

Sora finally finished his paper, and got Riku's nod of approval. He was ready to crash now. _"Great. Now you just have to rewrite it." _"Oh nooooo..." "_The teacher will never be able to read that, ya know." _"Yea..." Sora took his pen and grabbed a clean sheet of paper. "How come you're still up?" _"Heh, I guess I feel kind of bad for messing your schedule up."_ "But I chose to stay with you on my own." _"Yes, and now I'm staying up with you tonight." "_You're still weird, you know that?" _"And you're brainwashed." _"Psht."

xXx

"There! It's finally done." _"See I told you it would work out."_ "Meh." Sora packed his books up, ready to collapse in bed. _"Aren't you going to change into your pajamas?" _"Eh..." _"You'll sleep better if you do."_ Riku was changing into his own pajamas. Tonight they were plain black pajama pants and a matching short sleeved top. "I can't find anything." _"What would you do without me?"_

Sora started to walk to his bed, ignoring Riku's question. _"Okay let's see what you have in your dresser." _Riku started shifting through clothes that were in Sora's dresser. _"I'm sure there's something here. Ah...what's this?"_ Sora ran over and grabbed the item out of Riku's hands. _"That's so cute."_ "No it's not. And I'm not wearing it." _"Ah, but I bet you would be so adorable in teddy bear pajamas." _"No."

_"You know I'm not going to let you sleep until I see you in your teddy bear pajamas." _"You're evil." _"And it's no big deal to me if I'm late to class in the morning cause the alarm wouldn't wake me up." _"Fine. Just go back to your side of the room. I don't feel comfortable with you watching me like that." _"Anything you say, baby."_

xXx

Sora changed into his pajamas. The one's with all the little cartoon teddy bears all over it. The one's his mom had given him for Christmas. He wasn't even sure how it got packed in with his other stuff. He nearly cursed as a piece of it fell to the floor. Riku raised an eyebrow. _"Now what is that?" _"Ears...they came with it..." Riku's grin broadened as he looked at the article now laying on the floor. _"Sora..."_ "If I wear it, can I go to sleep?" Riku nodded his head, and watched as Sora put the little head piece on completing the outfit.

Sora crossed his arms before walking over to his bed. It had been a great day. A really great day. It had been for Riku anyway. He had never saw anything so adorable in his life. The only thing that could make the day better was if he had a camera. He would definitely have to buy one.


End file.
